


Welcome to the Team

by RunawayBean



Series: Blue isn't sus I was with him in Electrical [1]
Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Alien/Human Relationships, Among Us has taken over my LIFE, Blood and Injury, Blue is an Impostor, Boys Kissing, Budding Love, Cannibalism, Human/Monster Romance, Impostor Blue (Among Us), Impostor POV (Among Us), M/M, Major Character Injury, Pining, Sort Of, Tentacles, one of the characters gets eaten at the start and it's pretty graphic PLEASE be careful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:20:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26846563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunawayBean/pseuds/RunawayBean
Summary: Every time the Captain was nice to him and every time Blue didn't know how to deal with it.
Relationships: Black & Blue (Among Us), Blue & Dark Green (Among Us), Blue/Black (Among Us), Crewmate/Impostor (Among Us)
Series: Blue isn't sus I was with him in Electrical [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958350
Comments: 445
Kudos: 709





	1. Post Rescue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moonlit_0_Abyss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlit_0_Abyss/gifts).



> Among Us has taken over my life this isn't good. Literally I had a dream about being in an Among Us situation on the fucking skeld and I'm. I have a problem, okay? Also I had to look up where the accents go on 'papier-mâché' despite French being my second language. Anyway-
> 
> **Warnings: this fic contains very graphic depictions of injuries and violence, Impostor on Impostor cannibalism, and some soft gay between a human and a tentacle-y alien. THE FIRST CHAPTER CONTAINS AN ALIEN EATING ANOTHER ALIEN ALIVE. PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND DON'T READ THE BEGINNING IF THAT ISN'T COOL WITH YOU. If it's not, use control F to find the part where it says "they still have a heartbeat."**
> 
> Also: this is my 68th work. ONE MORE WORK Y'ALL.
> 
> Also also: Blue is a character belonging to my wonderful friend who has given me permission to use him and I'm. So grateful. I have so much anxiety when it comes to using other peoples' characters, and I'm so glad he likes how I write Blue. So I hope you enjoy my lovely friend's character! He's the greatest!

The tiny green nestling/pet/friend is absolutely adorable, but watching them race up to you in tears and squeaking miserably is absolutely the worst thing Blue had ever seen. The little guy skids to a stop at Blue’s feet, absolutely dwarfed by his size, and Blue crouches down to scoop them up.

“Hey, nestling,” Blue had long since given up on wondering the little guy’s name. “What’s wrong?”

Among all the beeping and squeaking, the little guy points toward medbay and Blue gets the sense that something is very very wrong. So he races off toward medbay, faster than any normal human would be able to move. The little guy in his arms hunkers down, still crying furiously, and Blue fears the worst.

And, when he gets to medbay, he sees the worst.

The other impostor, Orange, is hinged halfway open with massive tendrils unfurling out to eat the unconscious Green lying on the floor. There’s blood, _so_ much blood, and Blue feels his stomach turn as he remembers Green’s adorable smile when he’d ranted about how he hated sandwiches. 

Orange turns an eye to look at him, her confusion clear, but Blue doesn’t give her a chance to react before he’s leaping across the room and tearing her off Green’s body. Orange shrieks, tendrils scraping and teeth tearing through Green’s flesh like it’s papier-mâché. She fights viciously, her tentacles enveloping him in seconds, but Blue rips himself in half with a crackling, wet tearing noise, tendrils exploding through his false suit to fight back.

He can’t hear anything but Orange shrieking below him and his own animalistic growls as his face pulls apart, tearing open to reveal rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. And with that, he leans down to start to eat Orange.

He hadn’t always been attached to the crew, but he’d taken a liking to Green almost as soon as he’d met them. They’d been really sweet, excitement about new discoveries contagious as hell, and Blue had decided that if this crew had to go, he’d try to save Green. If anyone deserved it, they did.

Orange tears at his throat with her teeth as he pushes more of her inside of him, and he can feel himself bleeding, but he refuses to let her win despite. He would die before he let that happen.

 _“You’re supposed to be on my side you FUCKING MORON.”_ Orange’s voice echoes through his head, _“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU.”_

“Shut up and die.” Blue growls, vortex of teeth grinding into her fleshy, tendrilled body. 

The doors open with a puff of air but Blue can’t look to see who it is because Orange just _refuses to fucking die._

With one last shove, Blue pushes the last bits of Oranges body down his throat and closes up his mouth, the seam shutting slowly. He can still feel Orange wriggling and writhing furiously in his stomach, but he refocuses on the problem at hand and turns to find Black- the Captain- crouching next to Green’s body and ever so gently scooping them up into his arms. Blue can hear his heart racing irregularly in his chest and he immediately hurries across the room once he’s got his imitation suit back in order.

“They’ve got a heartbeat.” It’s all Blue can say.

“I know,” Black stands, lifting Green effortlessly and setting them on a bed before beginning to gather supplies presumably to fix them. “Help if you can, and stand back if you can’t.”

Blue opts to hand stuff to Black when he asks for it.

The next several minutes are a _whirlwind_ as the Captain works to coax Green back to a stable state, and Blue doesn’t think he breathes for as long as it takes for the heart monitor to steadily show 50 bpm (which Blue has come to realize is [around average for a sleeping human](https://blog.ouraring.com/heart-rate-during-sleep/)). Green’s injuries are bandaged and closed in record time and, thanks to the Captain’s quick and confident actions, the colour in Green’s cheeks starts to look more and more normal.

Finally, _finally,_ Black straightens and shakily brushes his hands against his legs, as if wiping away something. Then he reaches up and yanks off his helmet, his fluffy, spiky hair falling in his eyes. But it does nothing to mask the unreadable look of terror and anger in his eyes.

“Captain-” 

“Blue.” The Captain’s voice is precise, calm. “Based on what I saw, Orange has been dealt with, correct?”

Blue shifts his weight and swallows, feeling the last ditch efforts of Orange clawing at his throat. Then, finally, her last breaths of life bleed out and she falls still. Blue nods.

“Yes,” he tries not to sound choked or nervous but likely fails miserably. “She won’t be hurting anyone else, Captain.”

“Good.” 

Before Blue can say or do anything, the Captain steps back a few steps from Green’s sleeping body. Then his knees give out and he sits down hard on the bed beside Green’s, seeming to age ten years on the spot. He rakes his fingers through his hair, the spikes puffing up and looking a million times messier than they did a second ago, and finally turns his mismatched gaze on Blue.

“For what it’s worth, I trust you.” Black’s tone is truthful, nothing about him indicates he’s lying, but Blue doesn’t trust him any more than he did before all this. 

“Captain, permission to speak freely?” Blue asks.

“Fucking hell, I don’t care.” Black waves a hand at him. “Just talk.”

“Why do you trust me?” Blue frowns at him. “I’ve given you no reason to and it feels like you’re making a terrible choice here because I’m… I’m one of them.”

The Captain frowns right back at him. “You do not get to choose which of my choices are good or not. And you say you’ve given me no reason to trust you? Bullshit. Ask me why.”

Blue stares at him in shock for a moment.

Then, finally, Blue slowly says, “Why?”

“Because you saved my best friend.” The sincerity in the Captain’s eyes and voice feels like a spear to the gut. 

“Oh.” Blue whispers. Then he looks at the figure on the bed for a second before awkwardly saying, “Green is your… they’re not your… um…”

“They’re not my what?” Black raises an eyebrow at him, something Blue had never been able to replicate and one thing about humans he’d always found strange. 

“Not your- I don’t know the word humans use,” Blue says weakly, “They’re not your mate?”

Black stares at him for a moment. Then he groans and scrubs at his face with his hands and sighs, “No, they aren’t my mate. Or my partner, that’s what we call it.”

“Oh.” Blue says again. “Um.”

“I can see why you’d think that, but no.” The Captain looks back at Green again, eyes softening. “They’re very important to me and I care about them very much, but no. We aren’t partners and I doubt they’ll ever feel that way about me.”

“Oh.” The third time now. “I… I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

The little green dude hunkers down into Blue’s arms, looking up at him and definitely still crying. For a second, Blue moves to put them down next to Green, but they just cling to him and lean against him, squeaking softly at him. Clearly they don’t want to be put down so Blue just shifts them in his arms so they’re comfortable and then falls still.

“Blue,” Black sounds so tired, “Please do _not_ apologize. You did the right thing and you saved their life. If this little guy,” he gently pats the little green dude’s head. “If they’d gotten to me first, Green would be dead.”

“Don’t say that-”

“It’s the truth.” Black looks up at him, mismatched eyes sharp and dangerous. “You know it is.”

“But Captain-”

“Stop.” Black narrows his eyes, “Please.”

Blue shuts his mouth and nods. 

“Now… we do need to address the elephant in the room.” Black sighs. “The fact that I watched tentacles burst out of your chest and eat Orange, who turned out to be an Impostor.”

A sinking feeling settles into Blue’s chest, clawing at him from the inside. It’s not Orange, he knows it isn’t, but this is somehow worse.

“I feel like I owe it to the crew to tell them,” Black says slowly, “But I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

“Captain, with all due respect, I’m going to get shoved out the airlock. You and I both know this.” Blue viciously fights the urge to run. “You and I both know that the crew will want to throw me out.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, actually.” The Captain stands and starts pacing in circles around the room. “I mean… I trust you. I do. You haven’t done a _thing_ to hurt this crew until now, save for however White disappeared. Unless… was that you?”

Blue shakes his head. “That was me. I… I lost control. We were alone in electrical and I was starving and… I lost it.”

Black sighs, “Other than that, then, you haven’t done anything to hurt this crew as far as I’m aware. Is that correct?”

“I- Captain, you can’t seriously think-”

“You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do, Blue.” Black narrows his eyes. “Now answer my question. Have you or have you not done anything else to hurt this crew?”

“I- what are you trying to _prove,_ Captain?” Blue hisses, feeling slightly frantic. “I’m one of _them,_ that should be more than enough to prove I’m-”

“That you’re what? Not trustworthy?” Black stops pacing, standing right in front of Blue with his arms crossed and, despite the fact that Blue is far taller than the Captain, he feels absolutely miniscule. 

He can’t bring himself to speak for a _long_ moment, something welling up in his throat and seizing his voice box. Something is choking him, something that he is _positive_ isn’t Orange because she’s _dead_ but it still hurts far more than he wants it to. Everything hurts, his blood sings with it, but he has to answer. Black is his Captain, he’d betrayed _everything_ to be a part of his crew, so… it’s the least he can do.

Even if he does get shoved out the airlock, at least he’ll have been loyal to someone he chose rather than something he was forced to be loyal to.

“Yes,” his voice trembles, “I’m not trustworthy.”

“Why?”

“You’re-” Blue grits his teeth, “You’re making me _say it?”_

“I just asked you a question, Blue.” The Captain’s voice and face are virtually unreadable, his gaze absolutely frigid. “And I just want you to answer me.”

“I-” Blue’s voice gives out, words coming out choked and weak when he speaks next. “I _can’t.”_

“And why not?” Black is still infuriatingly unreadable.

“Because-”

“Why?”

“I-”

“Just _tell me.”_ The Captain says, voice soft enough that it catches Blue off guard. _“Please,_ Blue.”

Blue’s knees give out and he sits down hard on the bed behind him. “Captain, I’m…”

Black just watches him in silence.

Finally, Blue cracks and he hangs his head and whispers, “I haven’t done anything else.”

The tension in the Captain’s shoulders loosens and he gives Blue a nod that seems like a dose of finality sharp enough to kill. “Thank you.”

“Why are you _thanking me?”_ Blue whips his head up to stare at the Captain’s face, finding his eyes soft but expression still unreadable. “I’m an _Impostor,_ Captain, you can’t _possibly-”_

“You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do.” The Captain says again. “Now please, Blue, breathe for a moment.”

Blue obeys, inhaling slowly and exhaling twice as slowly. He doesn’t speak until his heart takes residence in his chest again, doesn’t speak until the Captain seems satisfied.

“Alright,” Blue’s voice trembles, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

The forgiveness gives him whiplash, yanking his voice from his throat in a sound that resembles the noise Purple had made when Cyan had punched them in the gut. 

“Blue,” The Captain’s voice is that same soft cadence as before, “I trust you.”

“I-” Blue’s voice gives out. “Please don’t-”

Black touches his shoulder and says, “Take your time to think, alright?” Then he looks down at the little green dude, who has long since fallen asleep in Blue’s arms, and adds, “I’d say you’ve got some time before this little guy wakes up.”

“You trust me with… with them?” Blue looks up at the Captain, utterly perplexed.

“With Pistachio?” Black raises an eyebrow, a smile finally playing across his lips. “They trust you, so I’d say I trust you too.”

“Oh,” Blue blinks at him from behind the helmet before looking down at the little green dude- Pistachio- in his arms. “Alright.”

Black makes a sharp little exhale sound, something Brown always made when something was just a bit funny but not funny enough to laugh, and he squeezes Blue’s shoulder. “Get some rest. I’m pretty sure you don’t need sleep, but you can relax. I’ll watch Green.”

Blue watches as Black turns and picks up his helmet and puts it back on, doing the clasp mechanisms with a practiced quickness not even Pink could replicate. Then the Captain goes and sits down next to the bed where Green is sleeping. 

And, when Blue scoots up and leans back against the pillow and the wall at the end of the bed, well… he may not need to sleep, but he’s out like a goddamn light.


	2. Post Airlock Shove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team had taken it surprisingly well. 
> 
> As soon as Green had woken up and been steady enough to stand (with help from Black) they tackled Blue in a hug and squeezed their arms around his waist tighter than Blue would have thought possible for them. They’re short, not very big in any sense, and yet they’d nearly squeezed the air out of him. It had caught Blue off guard so much that he hadn’t reacted for the three minutes it had lasted.
> 
> When Green had pulled away, they’d thanked him over and over and over, voice thick with emotion, before Pistachio had cannonballed into them and they’d started crying. It was cute, it was _so_ cute, and Blue had still been in shock a few minutes later when Green was curled up back on their medical bed, Pistachio in their arms, dead asleep. 
> 
> The Captain had clapped his shoulder, his smile clear in his voice, and Blue had blurted he wanted to tell the crew.
> 
> And that’s how they’d ended up here…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Welcome to the second part of this little thingo I'm working on. The chapters are on a schedule now (every four days!) and some of them _are_ going to be shorter than the first one. It's all about how it flows for me, so it'll be short and then long etc. I really hope you all like it!
> 
> This one has an airlock shove, so if that's not your cup of tea, you might want to skip that bit. But please remember: the Captain is a smart guy. Trust him uwu. All will be well.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy part two!

The team had taken it surprisingly well. 

As soon as Green had woken up and been steady enough to stand (with help from Black) they tackled Blue in a hug and squeezed their arms around his waist tighter than Blue would have thought possible for them. They’re short, not very big in any sense, and yet they’d nearly squeezed the air out of him. It had caught Blue off guard so much that he hadn’t reacted for the three minutes it had lasted.

When Green had pulled away, they’d thanked him over and over and over, voice thick with emotion, before Pistachio had cannonballed into them and they’d started crying. It was cute, it was _so_ cute, and Blue had still been in shock a few minutes later when Green was curled up back on their medical bed, Pistachio in their arms, dead asleep. 

The Captain had clapped his shoulder, his smile clear in his voice, and Blue had blurted he wanted to tell the crew.

And that’s how they’d ended up here… 

Red had been hostile. 

They’d always been a bit rude, but this was on a whole other level. 

As soon as the topic had been breached and Blue had been revealed to be an impostor, Red had been across the table and tackled Blue to the floor. They’d viced their hands around Blue’s throat and growled at him like _they_ were the impostor and not him. And then they’d told Black they would personally do the ‘honours’ of throwing Blue out the airlock.

Blue gasps in a breath before Red’s hands squeeze hard enough to block his airways, and he vaguely wonders if this is how he’s going to die. Not in the vacuum of space, not through an execution by his superiors, not anything dignified, but strangled on the floor of the cafeteria. It’s despicable, but… he genuinely believes it’s what he deserves. Red reacted appropriately.

But then Red’s weight is off of him and there’s a thud and a grunt and, by the time Blue has sat up, Black has Red pinned against the wall, their visor pressing into the wall. Black’s got his foot planted in the middle of Red’s back, shoving them harder against the wall with every second that passes. The tension in the room is sharp enough to make someone bleed, and Blue hears all of them stand up from the table in unison.

“Captain,” Brown steps forward, hands up, “What’s going on? I’m not clear on it.”

“BLUE,” Red spits, “is the FUCKING impostor.”

“I heard.” Brown says carefully, “But I was talking to the Captain, Red.”

“Blue is an impostor.” Black’s voice is steely calm, “You heard correctly.”

“And I’m assuming you have… _other_ information if you haven’t already dealt with him?” Brown’s voice is equally calm. 

“Correct,” Black nods.

Blue rubs his neck awkwardly. 

“White’s death was Blue’s fault, that I know for sure.” Black says, “But Yellow and Lime’s deaths were Orange’s fault.”

“So Orange was the other one.” Brown nods slowly, “I was right.”

“And Orange attacked Green.” The Captain gestures to Green, who is the only one still sitting down. “Blue saved their life without hesitation.”

The group falls silent, everyone looking at Green. Blue’s heart is pounding in his head, blood roaring in his ears (human ears are so weird), but he can’t bring himself to look back up at where the Captain’s got Red pinned to the wall or at Green. He’s just staring at the floor like it owes him money or like it’s going to kill him. He can’t really decide which is worse.

“Green,” Brown’s voice is perfectly smooth, “is this true?”

There’s a second of silence during which Blue can only guess that Green is nodding, then they say, “It’s true. The last thing I remember is seeing something blue appear in the doorway and then I blacked out.”

“You saw me?” Blue whispers, “I thought you were out already, I panicked, I _ripped myself in half,_ are you okay-”

“I’m okay.” Green says, the weight behind their words enough to knock the breath out of Blue. “I’m really okay, Blue.”

“And you trust me.” Blue finally lifts his head to stare at them. _“Why_ do you trust me?”

“Gee I wonder,” Green’s tone is _almost_ sarcastic, “You saved my life and probably risked yours to do it, so I’d say that’s pretty trustworthy. Plus you… kinda got rid of White. Who was an asshole.”

Blue is pretty sure he hears Purple choke and cough and then rasp something like ‘oh no I’ve corrupted them,’ but he’s a little too focused on Green.

“I… I don’t understand.” Blue feels his heartbeat quicken as panic starts to rise in his throat, seemingly unwarranted. _They’re just saying they trust me,_ he brings a hand up to clutch the front of his suit as he thinks, _why is that so earth shattering to me?_

“Not sure how else to put it, Blue.” The smile is clear in Green’s voice, sincere and golden. “I trust you. Plain and simple.”

“But it’s not _plain_ or _simple!”_ Blue bolts to his feet and stumbles backwards (he feels and hears Cyan hop nimbly out of his way). “I’m an _impostor,_ what about that spells _trustful_ to you?”

Green stands up, Pink immediately appearing at their side and gently helping them stay steady on their feet, and they start walking toward him. He wants to bolt, there is nothing Blue wants more in that moment than to run like his fucking life depends on it, but-

 _That would be unfair to them,_ his brain whispers, _they can’t run. They’d never catch up._

-he stays rooted in place.

It takes Green almost a hundred and three seconds to get to be a few feet in front of him and, once there, they reach out with their less shaky hand and take hold of one of his. It sends a bolt of something like electricity ricocheting up his arm, but Blue doesn’t let go. He doesn’t _let_ himself let go. He stays put, stays right the fuck where he is, and waits for whatever words are going to come tumbling out of Green’s irresponsible, injured, generous, kind, _wonderful_ mouth next.

When they do speak, their voice is gilded and sweet, almost honeyed. “You’re my _friend,_ Blue.”

And that.

Well…

“I’d say I’ve heard enough.”

It’s Brown that speaks, their posture open and something Blue had come to recognize as the indication that they’re agreeing with something. “I’ve made my decision about what should be done.”

“Same!” Pink chirps, still right at Green’s side.

“I didn’t really need to _make_ a choice to begin with,” Cyan shrugs.

“I made mine a while ago.” Green is grinning brightly, Blue's positive of it.

“Yeah, me too. I uh. Yeah.” Purple sounds a bit awkward, but otherwise easy and calm.

“So we’re all in agreement, then?” Black asks calmly.

The crew all nod.

Well, except for Red.

They start to say something and, in one swift movement, the Captain flips Red over his shoulder onto the floor and they land with a heavy thud and a wet grunt. Blue almost hears the air rush out their mouth as it’s knocked out of their lungs, and they writhe on the floor for a moment while Black straightens and looks at Blue.

“Well, Blue. Seems we’ve decided to keep you.” Black is so clearly smiling it hurts.

Green cheers and, after making a bad decision to hop, makes another and jumps into Blue’s arms for a hug. It’s a bit awkward for a second, too many limbs going all the wrong places and too many bruises that make Green whisper a tiny ‘ow,’ for Blue’s liking, but they get there eventually. And, when they do, it’s… way nicer than Blue would have ever expected. He’d always thought it was odd humans put their arms around each other, but… he can get behind this.

“But-” Red’s voice is raspy and breathless. “What about-”

“My apologies, Red, but if you can’t adapt to an ever changing and very dynamic crew, I don’t think this job is the right fit for you.” The Captain says calmly, hoisting them up over his shoulder with one arm like they’re nothing more than a sack of potatoes (it’s a phrase Blue had heard Green use once, and he’s not sure what a ‘potato’ is, but it sounds funny). “Let’s be off with you, then.”

“But there are no more escape pods.” Red sounds huffy as all hell as the Captain carries them down the hall with the rest of the crew in tow. “What are you gonna do with me, shove me out the airlock?”

“Red, do you happen to be an impostor?”

Red huffs, “Of course not! What the f-”

“Then you shouldn’t be trying to read my mind.”

The airlock is open and closed before anyone can blink and then Blue, who is still holding Green like a koala (whatever the heck that is), and the others are staring as the Captain holds onto a bar with one hand and dangles Red out into the vacuum with the other. Their radios crackle to life and, instinctively, the whole crew taps the buttons on their helmets to hear what’s going on.

_“-enough oxygen for two days in your pack.”_

_“Captain don’t-”_

_“You do not get to tell me what to do, Red. I’m pushing you in the direction of the nearest moon. It has a base on it-”_

_“CAPTAIN-”_

_“Oh, Red. You won’t be insulting my crew anymore. I am not your captain. Goodbye.”_

And then Red is floating off into space.

By the time Black is back inside the ship, Blue’s pretty sure everyone’s died of shock. But the Captain just gives them all a nod.

“If anyone has any complaints or questions about what I just did,” his voice echoes oddly, once out loud and then half a second later through the radios in their helmets. “You can see me in the cockpit during my shifts.”

“Is there really a moon nearby?” Cyan asks timidly.

“I’m not cruel, Cyan.” Black sighs, slouching a little. “There is indeed a moon nearby. They should reach it in just under eighteen hours with the speed they’re at. And yes, they do have forty eight hours worth of oxygen.”

He pauses.

Then he shakes his head and says, “Nevermind, it’s actually forty seven and a _half_ hours, but we can round up.”

Purple snorts and then quickly apologizes. Brown claps them on the back.

“So if anyone else has any-” the Captain shuts off his radio and pulls off his helmet, shaking his bangs out of his face and giving the crew a crooked, handsome smile. “Life changing realizations to share with the class, please do so now.”

There’s a moment of silence as everyone looks at each other. Then, one by one, each of them shake their heads. 

That is, all except one.

“I uh…” Purple fidgets, looking anywhere but at the Captain or the other crewmates. “I um. I might. Have. Something.”

“Out with it then.” Black gestures for them to speak.

“Uh…” Purple looks at Black for a split second before tugging off their helmet. Beneath is a _vaguely_ human face, but the nose is a little wrong and the eyes are too big and there’s no white or pupil and they don’t have eyebrows and the hair is. Not quite right. They give Black an awkward smile that splits their face four ways, and then kinda weakly say. “There were… three of us?”

“And did you eat anyone?” Black raises an eyebrow at them.

“Oh uh no-” Purple shakes their head, their hair not moving at _all._ “No, I uh. Brown introduced me to… um. I think they’re called milkshakes?”

“Ah, so that’s where our ice cream and most of our dairy has been disappearing to.” The Captain grins at them, humour dancing in his mismatched eyes. “I’ll be sure to put in an order for extra. I heard something about the crew wanting a monthly ice cream party.”

Purple deflates and then gives him what appears to be a little bow and they whisper, “Thank you, Captain, that’s… completely unwarranted and I don’t deserve that at all. And thank you for not killing me.”

“You’re welcome, Purple. Now, everyone back to whatever you were doing.” The Captain puts on his helmet again, Purple following suit a second later. “I’ll get Green back to medbay. And Blue, if you don’t mind? I’d like to speak with you.”

Despite everything that just ensued, the Captain saying that still manages to instill the fear of god in him. “Right. Sure. Uh… Captain.”

Black gives him a nod and dismisses everyone with a wave of his hand (Brown takes Purple by the arm and drags them off toward electrical), before he walks over to Blue.

“Here,” Black’s voice drops dramatically in volume and he takes Green from Blue’s hold in a manner that is far gentler than Blue would have ever expected. He notices that Green is fast asleep, heart rate once again dropping, and they make an odd little snuffly sound when Black settles them in his arms, even nuzzling their visor against his chest. For a second, Blue wonders if it’s possible to die of cute overdose.

But then the Captain is speaking again and he has to pay attention.

“Medbay?” Black jerks his head to the side, as if gesturing for Blue to lead the way and, after a moment’s hesitation, Blue does so.


	3. In Medbay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the medbay doors click closed behind Blue, he finds a weight being dragged off his shoulders, and he stands there, utterly frozen to the spot, as he watches Black set Green back on their bed. When Black reattaches the little heart rate reader to their finger, the heart rate monitor beeps pleasantly to life and starts quietly pinging out their every heartbeat. It’s a machine Blue had always found oddly cute…
> 
> “Blue,” the Captain’s voice seems to have gotten even softer, and there’s a hand gently touching his arm (Blue can feel the Captain’s heartbeat through the gloves and the layers of his suit). “Sit.”
> 
> “Right.” Blue rasps, allowing the Captain to walk him over to and sit down on one of the unoccupied medical beds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So far so good with the update schedule! This is the third chapter and I have to say I am so excited that this has been getting such a positive response ;;;w;;; thank you all so much for enjoying this. 
> 
> For those of you not aware, the update schedule I've selected is a chapter every four days. This means that chapter four will be out on the 22nd! Changes and schedule updates will be posted on both my [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/cyborg_hq) and on my [tumblr,](https://runawaybean.tumblr.com/) so be sure to check there if you're ever curious and follow me for other fuck-shittery.
> 
> Anyway, this one gets a tad sappy. I hope you enjoy!

The walk to medbay is silent, save for the soft sounds of their footsteps and the whirring of the fans in the unoccupied vents. It’s peaceful, almost, and Blue would have enjoyed walking like this in silence while everyone else is asleep to stare out the windows, but the Captain’s presence at his side prevents him from relaxing. It isn’t the Captain’s fault, really, but… it’s also not _not_ his fault. 

When the medbay doors click closed behind Blue, he finds a weight being dragged off his shoulders, and he stands there, utterly frozen to the spot, as he watches Black set Green back on their bed. When Black reattaches the little heart rate reader to their finger, the heart rate monitor beeps pleasantly to life and starts quietly pinging out their every heartbeat. It’s a machine Blue had always found oddly cute…

“Blue,” the Captain’s voice seems to have gotten even softer, and there’s a hand gently touching his arm (Blue can feel the Captain’s heartbeat through the gloves and the layers of his suit). “Sit.”

“Right.” Blue rasps, allowing the Captain to walk him over to and sit down on one of the unoccupied medical beds. Once he’s safely sitting down, he rasps, “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” The Captain tilts his head to the side just a bit and crouches down in front of him. 

“I… all of it?” Blue shrugs helplessly, “All the stress I caused, everything I did, I mean… I fucking _ate_ someone in _front of Green._ They’re probably traumatized.”

“I hate to break this to you, Blue, but they were already traumatized.” The Captain says quietly, “We’ve all got our baggage. Plus I’m almost positive Green didn’t see you ingest Orange.”

“But…” Blue swallows, slowly working up the courage to look at Black. “You did.”

The Captain hesitates for a moment, clearly caught off guard. Then he ducks his head and huffs a small laugh that almost sounds bitter. After a second of silence and Blue feeling like he’s fucked everything up, the Captain tells him to move over and, once Blue has scooched a bit, he sits down next to him. They’re close, barely six inches apart because of the thin bed, but even so, Blue feels like he’s going to be set on fire. Or maybe he already is on fire.

“I’m… going to tell you something I haven’t told anyone on this crew except for Green.” Black says carefully, fingers lacing together in his lap. “My mother was killed by an impostor when I was a baby. My father and I were almost eaten too.”

Blue’s veins turn to ice. “I’m-”

“Don’t.” There isn’t an ounce of hostility in Black’s voice, only inconceivable and absolutely bewildering kindness. “Please don’t say you’re sorry. I’ve heard it enough. Everyone tells me I’ll grow up to be her. Or my father. But I don’t want to hear you say it.”

“Okay.” Blue’s voice is tiny. “Um…”

“I’m not telling you this for sympathy or to make you feel bad, Blue.” Black finally turns his head to look at him. “I’m telling you this to kind of… prove that I mean it. I don’t judge people based on what they are or who their parents are. You’re an impostor, so what? You proved to me and to everyone that you’re trustworthy.”

“But how do you know you’re not _wrong?”_ Blue demands, voice still barely a whisper.

Black hums in thought for a moment before asking, “Blue, do you respect this crew? Do you respect me?”

“Yes.” Blue nods immediately. “I do, Captain.”

“Then have a little respect for our judgement.” 

Blue opens his mouth to respond. Then he closes it.

The Captain’s eyes sparkle at him from behind his visor. “You respect us, and I can only hope you trust us, but we also trust _you._ And do you know what that means?”

Blue’s heart leaps into his throat (literally). He shakes his head.

“It means that maybe, just maybe, you should respect our judgement and try to trust yourself a little bit.”

There’s a second where Blue is utterly speechless. And then that second turns far longer, dragging onward for ten, twenty, even thirty seconds before he manages the tiniest nod ever.

“Alright,” he sounds like Black just put him in a chokehold. “Alright, I’ll…”

“You don't have to do it all at once, that’s not how that works,” Black smiles, “Trust me, I know. But we can work at it.”

“We?”

“Did you really think you’d be doing this alone?”

Blue swallows nervously, avoiding Black’s gaze. “Um… yes?”

Black rolls his eyes, chuckling softly. It’s a warm sound, bubbling forth from Black’s chest in a soft rumble, and Blue decides he would listen to it forever if he could. 

“Blue,” Black leans over and nudges their shoulders together softly, “You’re a member of my crew. I’m going to be by your side to help whether you like it or not.”

A smile pokes at the corners of Blue’s mouth and he whispers, “Not very captain-like to force your help on others.”

“Sometimes they just don’t know they need it, or are too scared to ask.” Black nudges him again, “Kind of like someone I know.”

“Me?” Blue’s still figuring out this whole sarcasm thing.

“You.” Black nods. “Now, get some rest. That can’t have been a restful experience.”

“It’s-”

The Captain gives him a look.

“I…” Blue gives in, “You’re right. It… wasn’t exactly _fun.”_

Black nods, satisfied, and stands up, squeezing Blue’s arm for a moment. “Want me to walk you to your room?”

“Um.” Blue hastily gets to his feet, ignoring that strange tiny tight feeling in his chest in favour of brushing off his suit. “If it’s not a big deal? And you’re not busy?”

Black’s eyes sparkle behind the visor.

And Green is alone in medbay, Pistachio curled up in their arms.


	4. In Front of the Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Blue,”
> 
> The Captain’s voice stops him in his tracks. The hallway falls silent around them once more, even the vents seem quieter here, and there’s nothing between him and the Captain as he stops next to him. He can’t see the Captain’s eyes, the glare from the fluorescent lights over their heads making it impossible to see his expression, but Blue doesn’t mind. He can tell that the Captain isn’t upset from the way his shoulders are loose and relaxed. 
> 
> “Yes, Captain?” Blue curses himself when his voice sounds a bit breathier than he wanted it to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Welcome back to me screaming.
> 
> Anyway, I told you this was going to get softer and sappier. This chapter is a little shorter but... again, it's about the flow. Fluffy fluff coming your way, everyone. 
> 
> No warnings apply! There is just so much gay here uwu.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Blue,”

The Captain’s voice stops him in his tracks. The hallway falls silent around them once more, even the vents seem quieter here, and there’s nothing between him and the Captain as he stops next to him. He can’t see the Captain’s eyes, the glare from the fluorescent lights over their heads making it impossible to see his expression, but Blue doesn’t mind. He can tell that the Captain isn’t upset from the way his shoulders are loose and relaxed. 

“Yes, Captain?” Blue curses himself when his voice sounds a bit breathier than he wanted it to. 

There’s a soft huff and the Captain’s head tilts to the side a bit as if he were rolling his eyes, and Blue just watches for a moment, wondering how the hell this man decided Blue deserved to live. Not to mention Purple who, despite being useless to their society, was still an impostor. It’s baffling.

“I’m sure you’re likely very confused,” for a second, Blue wonders if the Captain’s read his mind. “But I’d like to assure you I will answer all of your questions.”

“That…” Blue swallows, “That is going to be a lot of questions, Captain.”

“I figured.” The Captain nods. “But I will answer them whenever you should choose to ask them.”

Blue opens his mouth.

“Except now.”

And closes it.

The Captain turns down the opacity of his visor and Blue can see his slight playful smirk. “You need rest now, and no matter how inhuman you may be, I am not going to keep you from it and I am not going to let you keep _yourself_ from it. I will not have my crew members being unhealthy on my ship.”

For a second, Blue wonders if it’s worth it to try to protest, but he gives in without much of a fight, deflating a little and half-wishing he could mess with his hair. “Fine.”

“Fine?” The Captain’s voice goes light with humour, “Only fine?”

“Fine, _Captain.”_ Blue wrinkles his nose at the Captain.

And the man laughs.

It shocks Blue to his very core, the sound pure and joyful and so out of place in the vacuum of nothingness just a wall away from them. It’s so whole and perfect and human, and it makes Robin wonder if he’d ever heard it before, if he’d ever heard the Captain laugh. He’d certainly never been the one to make the Captain laugh before, that had always been Purple or Green, but now?

It’s an odd feeling that settles over him as the Captain’s laugh fades into the air around them, something sweet and sticky and horribly awkward. Emotions are overrated. But Blue also doesn’t want to let this one go. It’s… well, it’s sweet. And it makes him smile. Maybe he should keep this one around…

The Captain nudges his shoulder gently again, the third time that evening, and Blue tries not to gasp as it feels like his every nerve is set alight beneath his suit. 

“You’re certainly something else, Blue.” The Captain sounds amused. 

“I mean…” Blue shrugs, “I’m not human.”

“That’s not what I meant,” the Captain sighs, “it’s a figure of speech humans use sometimes.”

“Oh,” Blue pauses for a moment. Then he tentatively asks, “And… what does it mean?”

“It means that the person saying it is truly astonished by the person on the receiving end. Usually it’s said with kind, warmer intentions.” The Captain explains.

“So when Green did that goofy, adorable thing with their nose when they put salt in their coffee by accident and you laughed and called them ‘something else,’ that’s what you meant?” 

“Exactly.” The Captain nods, “They’re important to me.”

Blue thinks back to how shaken the Captain had been when Green had finally been stabilized and says, “Yes, I think I knew that already.”

“No need to get sassy with me, Blue.”

“Not quite sure what ‘getting sassy’ is, Captain,” Blue smiles from behind the visor at him, “I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

The Captain laughs again-

_That’s the second time now._

-and nudges Blue’s shoulder again-

_The fourth time…_

-and even brings his hand up to squeeze Blue’s shoulder.

Once, Blue had heard Pink try to explain to him on a night patrol what Cyan made her feel. She’d told him about something called ‘goosebumps’ that rose up along your arms and the back of your neck when someone special touches you softly, in a way that’s just kind and useless and perfect. He’s pretty sure that’s what’s happening to him. Goosebumps.

When Black releases him, Blue brings a hand up and rubs at his shoulder where Black touched him, unsure of why he didn’t want the feeling to go away. 

“Get some rest, alright?” Black is smiling at him now, a small, gentle thing that sends something curling into the base of Blue’s skull. “I’ll take night patrol.”

Blue blinks at him.

And then whispers, “Oh, shit, was it my turn?”

“I said I’d cover you.” Black says, laughing _again,_ damn him. “I guess you’ll just owe me a little favour.”

As he’s walking off, Blue realizes he doesn't quite know what a ‘little favour’ actually is. So he quickly reaches out and grabs the Captain’s arm to stop him so he can ask (because it’s safe to do that now. It is. He has to remind himself that this is okay.)

“What… what’s a little favour?”

The Captain turns to look at him, visor opacity still low enough that Blue can see the faint spark of surprise in his eye before it vanishes. “Oh. It’s… hm. I do a little something for you, like doing something you’re supposed to, and then you pay me back in the future by doing something small for me. It’s a trade.”

“A trade.” Blue repeats, “Okay. Uh. Yeah, I can do that.”

Black smiles at him again, and his hand is touching Blue’s before Blue even realizes it. “Thanks. I’ll let you know what it’ll be. But for now…”

For a moment, Blue hasn’t the faintest clue what he’s talking about.

Then- “Fuck. Right. Uh. Sorry.”

He drops his hand back to his side like he’d been burned, stepping back instinctively to give the Captain space. He straightens his posture and gives Black a stiff nod.

But the Captain only huffs a little laugh and says, “Have a good night, Blue.”

And the Captain rounds the corner before Blue can open his mouth.

By the time he’s on his bed, he’s already drowning in thoughts. It’s ridiculous, that one brain can conjure so much in three seconds, but Blue feels like the Captain is also partially to blame for this because of… whatever it is he just did to Blue. It’s unfair, really. 

Do humans have some sort of charming technique? Maybe a mind trick to make other people complacent? It hadn’t seemed hostile in any way, maybe it’s just for trust and things like that? Does the Captain use it on everyone? Has he been using it this whole time? Maybe he should ask Green… they always answered questions… 

Blue shakes his head and rolls onto his side, folding his arm up beneath his head to act as a cushion of sorts, and stares at the bare wall in silence. He shouldn’t bother Green with useless questions like that. Besides, he can collect his own evidence and figure this out on his own, right? He’s made it this far and he’d figured out what the fuck kidneys are for on his own, so surely he can do this.

It becomes apparent after ten minutes of forcing himself awake that he can’t ‘do this’ if he doesn’t rest. Seems the Captain had been right, damn him. Blue doesn’t like being on anyone else’s schedule but his own when it came to his body’s equivalent of sleep, but he also just hated it in general so…

After another five minutes of avoiding it and trying to logic his way out of it, he gives in and falls still. It’s a choice. He is _not_ tired. 

But he _is_ out cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/cyborg_hq) || [tumblr](https://runawaybean.tumblr.com) || [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/RunawayBean)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Why not tell me what you think? And if you liked it, why not drop a kudos?
> 
> Thanks again and see ya next time uwu.


	5. At Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next thing he knows, there’s a knock on his room door and a soft voice saying, “Good morning, Blue. Breakfast.”
> 
> Blue blinks, slowly pushing himself to sit up. The lighting hasn’t changed, nothing’s changed, but the digital clock on the desk across the room reads **9:37am.** The clocks had been attuned at the beginning of the mission to the time it had been when they left, so this is likely incorrect, but… cycles are weird. Time is weird and warped out here. And, well, Blue feels like he got hit by a spaceship, so him being out for that long is certainly plausible.
> 
> Once he’s upright and his face isn’t sliding off, Blue readjusts the sealing mechanism keeping his helmet on. He’d been lying awkwardly and it had shifted to a slightly too tight position. Overall just uncomfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> Welcome back to this little cute mess of a fic. This chapter is. Rather short. But that's mostly just for flow reasons. I promise there is more on the way (next update is on the 30th of October) so stay tuned!
> 
> Also I just have to thank you all again for the overwhelmingly positive response this has gotten. Your comments make me absolutely blindsided with the positivity and I just. You're all phenomenal.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy part five of Welcome to the Team!

The next thing he knows, there’s a knock on his room door and a soft voice saying, “Good morning, Blue. Breakfast.”

Blue blinks, slowly pushing himself to sit up. The lighting hasn’t changed, nothing’s changed, but the digital clock on the desk across the room reads **9:37am.** The clocks had been attuned at the beginning of the mission to the time it had been when they left, so this is likely incorrect, but… cycles are weird. Time is weird and warped out here. And, well, Blue feels like he got hit by a spaceship, so him being out for that long is certainly plausible.

Once he’s upright and his face isn’t sliding off, Blue readjusts the sealing mechanism keeping his helmet on. He’d been lying awkwardly and it had shifted to a slightly too tight position. Overall just uncomfortable.

The hallway is empty, save for Brown’s retreating form at the end of it, and Blue’s walk toward the cafeteria is silent and lonely, but peaceful all the same. It almost feels more restful than whatever happened during the night, not that Blue ever feels rested after a period of rest, and he arrives in the cafeteria with an extra spring in his step.

Purple gives him a wave when they spot him, their eyes big and friendly and their smile splitting their face. Blue gives them a slight wave and a nod, and turns to find the Captain sitting at Blue’s usual table, helmet off and picking at his food. His expression is blank, as far as Blue can tell, but he looks up when Blue sits down and gives him a faint smile. He has dark circles under his eyes and he’d always had them but they almost seemed more pronounced now. Blue dejectedly chalks that up to his guilt about having Black take over his shift last night, but there’s nothing he can do about that now.

“Morning,” the Captain gives him a little nod, his gaze drilling into Blue and making him feel distinctly like prey in an odd, nice way. “How was your rest?”

“Morning, Captain. It was fine.” Blue pokes his food with a utensil (he’s pretty sure it’s a fork). “How was patrol?”

“Uneventful.” Black muses, “Though I did get a transmission from the base that they received Red safely. Far earlier than expected, but they’re alive and well, just a bit grumpy. I’ll have to speak with them if we ever cross paths.”

Blue looks up at him. “Do they know about… um.”

“Blue, I know the woman running that base. We’ve been friends for a while. If Red says anything, she won’t be alarmed and _certainly_ won’t report us.” The Captain says, tone sounding suspiciously like he’s making a promise.

“Okay…” Blue trails off, deflating a little and leaning his elbows on the table to put his head in his hands. “I… watching them float away…”

“It wasn’t my first choice either.” Black admits quietly, “But we didn’t have any escape pods and they _did_ survive. I knew they would. If they wouldn’t have survived, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“So… you. Calculated it?” Blue frowns behind his visor.

“In a way, yes.” Black nods, “I may have prepared for that confrontation with the crew.”

Blue stares at him for a _long_ moment, complete shock slowly making its way through his system. It feels like ice in the most horrible way, like the liquid ice he’d once found in the middle of a previous mission. It had hurt to touch, had killed a crew member. This is worse yet somehow better all the same.

“You… knew they’d react the way they did?” Blue’s voice is low, almost a whisper, but he can’t seem to make it any louder. 

“I knew Red would.” Black explains, “The others? Not so much. I had a feeling Brown wouldn’t react strongly, and Cyan is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I had theories, but very few certainties. So I prepared.”

“Why would you throw your crewmates out for me?” Blue still hadn’t wrapped his head around it.

“Hm…” For a moment, Blue wonders if Black is going to answer at all. But then Black shrugs lightly and says, “I don’t need someone like Red on my team.”

It’s… not quite an answer. But Blue hadn’t expected one. 

The two of them lapse back into silence, both of them picking awkwardly at the food on the trays in front of them. Clearly neither of them are hungry. The Captain looks exhausted, and he seems to be getting more and more tired as the seconds tick by. Maybe Blue should say something… 

Before he can, though, Black looks up at him and says, “Blue, you’re a member of my crew.”

Blue stares at him for a second.

“That came out awkwardly,” the Captain winces, “I meant it though. You’re a member of my crew and I intend to keep you safe.”

“Wh-” Blue stutters, “Where is this coming from?”

“Not sure. Maybe from the heart?” The Captain gives him a crooked, unfairly attractive smile, then pulls on his helmet and stands up, doing up the clasps and sealing it back to his suit. He picks up his tray of barely eaten breakfast (could it be counted as breakfast if he hadn’t slept?) and walks over to dispose of it before disappearing down the hallway.

And Blue is left alone at the table, staring after him.

It takes him a few minutes to remember that there’s food in front of him, and another few minutes to realize that most of the crew had been staring after the Captain or at him. He ducks his head and tries to eat, pulling off his helmet and setting it on the table next to him. The food is bland as it always is, and Blue tries to count the days until their next shipment of supplies. He wonders about the trip the cargo’ll have to make. He wonders if the robots on board will malfunction.

He wonders about everything, lets his mind wander. And wander it does. But any time he starts to think about the Captain, he wrangles his brain back onto a more… simple path.

The Captain is a complicated man, and he’s no less complicated to think about. Especially after the past few days. Had he never noticed before how enigmatic the Captain is? Had he been too preoccupied with everything he’d been trying to do? And every order he’d been ignoring? Was he really so distracted?

_Has the Captain known all this time?_ this thought was bound to happen eventually. _Is that why he took it so well?_

The cafeteria empties soon enough, leaving Blue completely alone, and he finally feels comfortable enough to flop forward and smoosh his forehead against the cool surface of the table. He tries to think. He tries not to think. He’s not sure what he’s doing and what he’s trying not to do. He just doesn’t know anymore.

Maybe he should talk to Green… they know the Captain pretty well, right?

He’s moving before he realizes it.


	6. In Medbay (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Captain’s weird, yeah.”
> 
> Green is, surprisingly, awake when Blue steps through the medbay doors. They’re awake enough to be sitting up, propped against a metric fuck ton of pillows, and have Pistachio perched in their lap, pleased as can be. Blue had been far more relieved than he’d ever have let on when he’d seen them awake and had been even more so when they’d turned to look at him without an ounce of fog in their eyes. They’d gestured him over and, once he’d nabbed a chair from the wall, he’d sat down next to their bed.
> 
> And then they’d almost immediately asked him how he was holding up which had been unnerving. He’d answered as vaguely as possible, they’d pouted, and then Blue had mentioned the Captain and now here they are.
> 
> “Weird.” Blue repeats, “Uh. Weird how?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to chapter six.
> 
> Okay I'm genuinely enjoying writing this, and I _finally_ figured out how many chapters there is going to be (twelve plus an epilogue) and so it really is becoming I'm excited for. With that said, you've all been enjoying it too and the overwhelmingly positive response is giving me SO MUCH SEROTONING. Thank you all so much for enjoying this.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! There will definitely be more soon uwu.

“Captain’s weird, yeah.”

Green is, surprisingly, awake when Blue steps through the medbay doors. They’re awake enough to be sitting up, propped against a metric fuck ton of pillows, and have Pistachio perched in their lap, pleased as can be. Blue had been far more relieved than he’d ever have let on when he’d seen them awake and had been even more so when they’d turned to look at him without an ounce of fog in their eyes. They’d gestured him over and, once he’d nabbed a chair from the wall, he’d sat down next to their bed.

And then they’d almost immediately asked him how he was holding up which had been unnerving. He’d answered as vaguely as possible, they’d pouted, and then Blue had mentioned the Captain and now here they are.

“Weird.” Blue repeats, “Uh. Weird how?”

“He’s always been _really_ good at reading people, which really gets on some peoples’ nerves.” Green explains, twiddling their thumbs and watching as Pistachio hopped over their ankles over and over. “It’s something the higher-ups especially didn’t like when we were trainees. He had a reputation already because of his parents but then he’d been the way he is and…”

“I take it they weren’t happy?” Blue asks.

“He almost didn’t graduate from the program.” Green sighs heavily, shoulders slouching forward. 

Blue blinks in shock. “What?”

“Yeah.” Green sighs again, “He’d antagonized one of our professors by calling out something they were doing and, upon realizing he was contesting the professor’s authority, the professor started a whole awful feud that lasted for three years.”

“That. Sounds awful.” Blue tries not to wince.

“I know. And the thing is, the Captain was absolutely right. The professor was abusing his power and doing something that’s pretty much illegal. The Captain pointed it out and almost didn’t become a captain because of it.” Green puffs out their cheeks, fluffy hair messy due to their helmet and likely restless sleep. 

“Wow.” Blue mutters, “That uh. That’s something.”

“Mhm.” Green sighs, “You've got a fairly infamous Captain.”

“Great.” 

Green snorts. 

Silence settles over the two of them. It’s comfortable in a way that Blue hadn’t expected, and he really doesn’t mind just sitting there with Green for however long this lasts. As the silence goes on, the two of them watch Pistachio hop around Green’s ankles, their little feet making the blanket shift and crease. It’s cute, unfairly so, and Blue has to physically restrain himself from cooing at them. 

“Y’know…” Green purses their lips, “You never did a med scan before.”

Blue feels something awkward curl in his chest and he clears his throat. “Um. You’re right. I haven’t.”

“I’m going to be honest with you, that was a little suspicious.” Green’s eyes sparkle a little. “And now I understand why you didn’t do them.”

“Scanning an Impostor would be really hard on the machinery.” Blue says weakly.

“I don’t really need to know why,” Green shakes their head, patting Pistachio’s head when they plop down into Green’s lap. “I’m just glad I got an answer as to why you and Orange and Purple were the only three who didn’t do one at some point.”

“Oh.” Blue fidgets with his fingers for a moment, “Um.”

Green gives him a smile and says, “I have to admit, I am kind of curious… what is your normal form?”

“It’s-” Blue pauses for a moment to think about how he phrases what he says next. “Think... meat. Deconstruct humans and creatures and strip the flesh off of them and press it together with more eyes and mouths than anyone could find useful, if that... makes any sense?”

Green stares at him for a long moment and Blue watches as they mouth what he’d said to themself in silence. For a second, he wonders if he’s said something wrong or if he’d creeped them out too much, but then they give him a little nod, understanding flashing in their eyes. Relief breaks over his shoulders, sending the cold sensation of it pouring down his back, and Blue physically restrains himself from deflating with a huff.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Green nods again, “I can sorta picture something. Reminds me of something from a video game, actually.”

“Really?” Blue blinks, a little flabbergasted.

“Yeah!” Green perks up a bit. “Don’t remember what the game was called but it was really cool and I enjoyed it. The imagery of the creature you played as was similar to what you just described, you know?”

“Uh.” Blue says elegantly, “No. Not really. Sorry.”

“No, no, don't apologize.” Green waves away his apology with a little huff, “Seriously, it’s okay. Video games aren’t something you’re familiar with and that’s perfectly okay.”

“They sound. Interesting.” Blue winces at how weak his voice sounds. 

Green blinks at him for a second. Then a glowing grin spreads across their face and their eyes sparkle and they excitedly say, “Did you want to see some of the games I have? I brought them up when we left and they’re really cool. That is, if you want. No pressure!”

“It sounds like fun, actually.” Blue tries for a smile and, based on the way Green absolutely beams at him, he’s fairly successful. 

“Awesome.” Green says, sounding like they’d just been offered the world on a platter. “Super awesome.”

Blue averts his eyes from Green’s sunshine-y face, instead looking vaguely behind them, and says, “When are you off next?”

“Blue,” Green sounds like they’re trying really hard not to laugh. “I’m bedridden.”

“I-”Blue sighs, “Right. Sorry.”

Green snorts and claps their hand over their mouth. “Don’t, it’s okay.”

“But how the hell did I _forget?”_

“Blue,” Green reaches out with a decidedly shaky hand and gently takes hold of Blue’s arm. “It’s _okay._ I promise that it is. Seriously. I’ve done worse.”

Blue huffs at them a little bit, trying to sound teasing, “I find that hard to believe.”

“I’m the full time medic now, Blue,” Green says, “After White got monched. I’ve seen all of the crew members injured in here at least once. One time I forgot that the _Captain_ was essentially in a coma and asked him if he could hit the lights.”

Blue unsuccessfully holds back a snort and rasps, “So you asked a man who was _unconscious_ if he could turn off the lights?”

“Told you we’re all dumbasses sometimes.” Green laughs.

“Alright, alright, you’ve proven me wrong.” Blue rolls his eyes at Green. “Still can’t believe you forgot he was in a coma.”

“I-” Green puffs out their cheeks and frowns at him in what Blue can only guess is a pout. “I was under a lot of stress, okay? We’d _just_ put me in as the new medical professional and-”

“I’m _teasing,”_ Blue says with a smile. Then, before he could talk himself out of it, he reaches over and nudges Green’s shoulder with his in an imitation of what Black did to him.

Green stiffens for a second, eyes wide and clearly confused. But then they beam at him and lean over to nudge him back. Something warm curls in Blue’s chest and he leans over to nudge Green again. This leads to the two of them exchanging little nudges and shoves for the better part of five minutes before Green dissolves into laughter and falls back against their mountain of pillows.

“You know,” Green says, “I really like you. I’m glad we shoved Red out rather than you.”

Blue stares at them.

“I mean they were kinda mean.” Green pouts, “I tried to be their friend but it just never worked. But now you’re here to stay and… I’m really glad you’re staying!”

For a second or two, Blue is too taken aback to speak, let alone form words at all. 

But then he manages to rasp, “I’m glad I’m staying too.”

Green’s smile could melt the coldest winters.

“You should get some sleep.” Blue says eventually, moving to stand up. 

Green sighs and nods a little, looking down at Pistachio (who had long since fallen asleep in their lap). “I probably should. Sleeping equals recovery, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Blue shrugs, “But it’s better than walking around or me keeping you up.”

“Right.” Green yawns. “See you later, Blue.”

“Sleep well.” 

As Blue walks toward the doors (and he hears Green’s heartbeat slow to a steady sleeping pace), they open before he’s even close enough and the Captain appears. Blue stiffens and freezes, moving to give the Captain a salute and a greeting, but Black just lifts a hand and puts a finger to the base of his visor where his lips would be, as if in a shushing gesture. Blue can see his eyes behind his visor, the opacity lowered enough he can see the smile in them.

The Captain lowers his hand without a word and slips past Blue, but not before gently touching his shoulder as he passes. The touch sends a shockwave through Blue’s blood, and he’s stock still in the doorway for a count of seventeen before he shakes himself back to reality. He casts a look over his shoulder to find the Captain checking over Green’s vitals before settling down at their bedside in silence.

But then the Captain looks up at him. For a moment, neither of them move.

Finally, Blue manages to muster up the courage to give the Captain a wave before slipping out the door and into the hallway. 

He doesn’t see if the Captain returns it.


	7. In the Little Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touch is something the Captain never gave out freely. This is something Blue had come to realize in the week since Red’s dismissal from the crew. He never touched anyone during meetings or in the hallways, never put his hand on someone’s back when he passed behind them, always leaving an inch of space between his hand and the person no matter how cramped the space was. He didn’t touch anyone.
> 
> Except for Green.
> 
> With Green, it seemed to be a whole other story which, Blue thinks, is understandable. The two have known each other for a long time, if what Green had said is true, and it showed. The Captain would often tap Green’s shoulder or nudge them or pat their head (which annoyed them) or even ruffle their hair when their helmet was off. He gave out touch as freely as if it were oxygen when it came to Green.
> 
> But then he’d started touching Blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Welcome back to Welcome to the Team! This is part seven and I have to say, I'm stupidly excited for this. I'm genuinely enjoying writing this and I just- you're all phenomenal and amazing and I'm so glad you all seem to enjoy this story so much.
> 
> No warnings apply for this! It's just Purple and Blue bonding as impostors. Also Purple speaks rather casually and I love them (and I _might_ be writing something for them and Brown uwu).
> 
> But yes, I hope you enjoy!

Touch is something the Captain never gave out freely. This is something Blue had come to realize in the week since Red’s dismissal from the crew. He never touched anyone during meetings or in the hallways, never put his hand on someone’s back when he passed behind them, always leaving an inch of space between his hand and the person no matter how cramped the space was. He didn’t touch anyone.

Except for Green.

With Green, it seemed to be a whole other story which, Blue thinks, is understandable. The two have known each other for a long time, if what Green had said is true, and it showed. The Captain would often tap Green’s shoulder or nudge them or pat their head (which annoyed them) or even ruffle their hair when their helmet was off. He gave out touch as freely as if it were oxygen when it came to Green.

But then he’d started touching Blue. There had been the four nudges the other night along with the touches to his shoulder and those alone would have been enough to completely derail everything Blue knew about himself, but then the Captain didn’t _stop._

Everyday when Blue returned to his room, he’d have a mental tally of how many times the Captain had just extended casual touch to him and, everyday, he’d have upwards of ten instances. It’s enough to make him question everything _else_ he knew about himself that he hadn’t already been questioning.

So he brings it up with Purple one day.

Purple is halfway inside of the wall, trying to fix something to do with the electrical circuits on the ship, and they almost look like they’re about to be completely swallowed by the wall. 

“Dunno what you’re so worried about,” their voice is a tad muffled. “It’s not a big deal to like someone, you know.”

“I-”

“We all like the Captain.” Purple continues, “He’s a great guy! Plus he defended us when we really didn’t deserve it, y’know? Plus he seems really interesting, like a puzzle or something.”

“I know,” Blue deflates, “But I…”

Purple pulls themself out of the wall with a little _pop_ before turning their head to look at him, visor opacity all the way up. “But you…?”

“I don’t know.” Blue hugs himself and shrinks against the wall, more horizontal than vertical by now. “I really don't know.”

“Hm.” Purple’s frowning at him, he can just tell. Then there’s a loud metallic _thunk_ and much rustling and shifting as Purple scoots over to settle down next to him. 

“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t even know if the Captain likes me at _all._ Like in general.” Blue sighs, looking up at the ceiling.

Purple is silent for a long moment.

Then they sigh and mutter, “Wow, and I thought _I_ was blind.”

Blue makes a small injured noise and looks at them properly. 

“Come on, dude,” Purple sighs again, “You can’t seriously think he doesn’t like you at all, right? Tell me this is a joke. Pretty please?”

“I-” Blue splutters for a moment. “What do you mean _tell you it’s a joke?”_

“Geez, man, that’s- wow. Just wow.” Purple snickers a little and lightly punches his shoulder. “I mean you can’t tell me you genuinely believe the Captain doesn’t like you because it’s so obvious he likes you in some way, at least.”

“I have no idea what you mean.” Blue says weakly.

“You came to me asking what the significance of the Captain nudging you every once in a while and the fact that you might like him is, dude,” Purple says, spreading their fingers in a helpless gesture. “I’m just trying to help. You’re the only one outside of Green that he willingly touches without being prompted or having some other important reason for doing so, which means he _definitely_ doesn’t hate you.”

Blue opens and closes his mouth several times as he tries to figure out what to say. Eventually, he manages to weakly rasp, “He could be just trying to make me feel welcome.”

“Mhm, he could, but he isn’t doing that for me! And does he seem like the kind of person to treat two people differently if there isn’t some sort of bias there?” Purple crosses their arms in a very confrontational way.

“I…” Blue thinks about it for a second before deflating. “I guess not.”

“Exactly!” Purple throws their hands up, “That took you way too long!”

“I still don’t think he likes me.”

Purple punches him. Properly this time.

Blue yelps and scoots away, rubbing his shoulder. “What was that for?!”

“Testing to see if you were a rock,” Purple snickers, “Because you’re so _dense.”_

With a huff, Blue climbs to his feet, brushing off his suit. “Don’t know why I bothered. You’re mean.”

“And yet you came to little old me for help!” Purple calls after him as he walks toward the door. “Just don’t forget what I said! And don’t turn into a rock or we’ll have a _real_ problem on our hands!”

“This _is a real problem.”_ Blue whips around to hiss at them, “And don’t-”

“There’s a problem?”

Blue stiffens. The doors to electrical close right on time to muffle Purple’s bark of laughter. Footsteps approach.

And when Blue turns, he finds himself face to face with the Captain.

The opacity of his visor is just low enough Blue can see his eyes, but not low enough he can see the emotion in them. The Captain’s posture is unreadable, completely neutral, and Blue flounders for a moment wondering if this is actually the Captain or he’d completely misheard his voice. Maybe this is Brown-

“Blue,” when the person in front of him speaks again, Blue is certain it’s the Captain. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Blue says, far too quickly. He clears his throat and quickly adds, in a more neutral tone, “Nothing’s wrong, Captain. Sorry Captain.”

Black doesn’t seem convinced in the least. “Are you certain? Because even if it’s just something small, we should fix it before it becomes too big of a problem.”

A voice in Blue’s head that sounds suspiciously like Purple whispers, _Ain’t that the truth._ But he quickly pushes that thought away and refocuses on trying to convince the Captain that nothing is happening and that he doesn’t need help because his heart is starting to stutter oddly in his chest with the way the Captain’s eyes are resting on his face. It’s stupid, he feels so utterly stupid, so he’s going to fix his mistake.

The mistake being letting the Captain hear about there being a ‘problem’ when there most certainly isn’t one. Not the bit about his heart stuttering. That is something else entirely that he will address when he is alone and able to whisper about his emotions to himself without fear of anyone (much less his commanding officer) hearing him.

“It’s fine, Captain, I promise.” Blue insists, “Really, Purple’s got it under control.”

“Hm. And yet you said it was a ‘real problem,’ Blue.”

_Shit._ “Captain, it’s being dealt with as we speak, I-”

“Blue,” the Captain’s voice grows steely, “What. Is. _Happening?”_

A stone settles into Blue’s stomach, cold and overpowering and utterly terrifying. He can’t lie to the Captain, he just can’t do it. He ducks his head and opens his mouth to speak-

“Fixed it!”

Both Blue and the Captain turn to find Purple emerging from electrical with a triumphant pep in their step. Once the doors close behind them, Purple hops up to stand next to Blue, fists planted on their hips in a victorious pose. They’re grinning brilliantly behind their visor.

“It’s all good, Cap’n, all taken care of.” They chirp happily. “Crossed some wires and nearly blew a fuse, but! I fixed it! Blue heard you coming and went to cover for me. Sweet, huh?”

“Indeed.” The Captain says, voice unreadable once again. He turns to Blue and says, “Is this true?”

“Yes, Captain.” Blue says immediately, “It’s true. I didn’t realize you were so close.”

“And yet you lied to me.” Black says.

Blue winces but Purple claps a hand on his back hard enough to make him wince harder. “I told him not to, that it wasn’t a big deal, but he didn’t want to worry you! We’re all good, Cap’n.”

“If you say so.” The Captain finally relents, “Thank you, Purple. Blue.”

Finally, _finally,_ the Captain continues down the hallway, slipping past Blue (and ever so slightly brushing their shoulders together as he goes). Blue doesn’t let himself relax until the Captain’s footsteps disappear around a corner. Once they’re gone, he brings a hand up to rub at where the Captain’s shoulder had brushed his, the nerves there burning in an almost pleasantly uncomfortable way.

He can feel Purple’s eyes on him before he turns to look at them. When he does look, they’ve got their arms hanging by their sides, shoulders oddly stiffened in a way that humans likely wouldn’t be able to replicate. Then, very slowly, they give a very pointed look to where Blue’s got his hand clamped over his shoulder, eyes flashing a little.

“You,” they say carefully, “have got it bad.”

“I.” Blue frowns, “I’ve got what bad?”

“Fuck,” Purple crosses their arms and kicks at the floor underfoot. “Listen, Blue, I don’t know how else to say it for you without making you explode or something. I’m pretty sure you like the Captain.”

Blue’s frown grows. “I. I don’t understand. You said we all like the Captain?”

Purple stares at him for a long moment.

Then: “No I mean I think you’re in love with him.”

Oh.

_Oh._

Oh, okay, yes that could be a problem.

“I’m.” Blue splutters, “I’m in _love with him?”_

Purple crosses their arms and waits.

For the next several moments, Blue just struggles to speak. Then he struggles to properly articulate what exactly is going through his head. It takes him approximately four minutes to get himself together enough to say something and, when he does, he’s not quite sure what he says makes any sense. Judging by the way Purple looks at him, it indeed makes no sense. So he tries again.

“I… don’t-” Blue clears his throat. “I’m not in love with him.”

“Mhm,” Purple rolls their eyes behind their visor. “And you _didn’t_ just try to lie to the Captain’s face in a way that was absolutely certainly going to make him suspicious of you.”

“I-”

“Deny it all you want, Blue, but you’re not exactly the best liar.” Purple sighs and shakes their head. “Listen, dude. I wouldn’t ignore it if I were you, okay? Not saying you have to do something about it, but you kinda owe it to yourself to not _lie_ about it to yourself, y’know?”

Blue hesitates. Then, very slowly, he whispers, “I’ll try.”

“Knew you would.” Purple’s smile is back, “Now, take it from another idiot who may or may not be in love with a human, just talk to him. Humans are weird creatures but they’re not unreasonable. They like words.”

“I’m not great with words.” Blue whispers, suddenly feeling immensely terrified.

“Oh, man, really? Wow I never would have guessed!” Purple snickers.

Blue gives them a wounded look, but Purple just laughs and claps him on the shoulder (though Blue does notice they do it to the one the Captain _didn’t_ touch). 

“Now go get ‘em, tiger.” Purple gives him a thumbs up.

“What does that _mean?”_ Blue wheezes as they turn and walk off down the hallway.

“No clue!” Purple’s laughter echoes around the hallway, “But good luck!”

And thus, Blue was left alone with his thoughts.

Great.


	8. In Navigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue hadn’t _meant_ to sign up for night patrol the same night as the Captain, but it seems that the fates have planned his demise. So here he sits, perched in one of the windows in navigation, looking out over the stars with the man who had single handedly taken his entire world and flipped it upside down. He’s trying so desperately to act natural that he’s positive he looks like he’d just popped a blood vessel or broken a tooth or something.
> 
> It’s quiet, only broken by the quiet whirring of machinery in the walls, and Blue can almost feel the awkwardness crawling up his veins like tiny mechanical insects. Tiny, metallic insects. They’re cold and sharp and awful and they hurt like nothing he’s ever experienced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Welcome back to Welcome to the Team and welcome to the new update: Chapter 8. I'm very excited, this is really so much fun, and there's some PLOT that's gonna happen soon. I hope you all love it. 
> 
> Enjoy part 8!

Blue hadn’t _meant_ to sign up for night patrol the same night as the Captain, but it seems that the fates have planned his demise. So here he sits, perched in one of the windows in navigation, looking out over the stars with the man who had single handedly taken his entire world and flipped it upside down. He’s trying so desperately to act natural that he’s positive he looks like he’d just popped a blood vessel or broken a tooth or something.

It’s quiet, only broken by the quiet whirring of machinery in the walls, and Blue can almost feel the awkwardness crawling up his veins like tiny mechanical insects. Tiny, metallic insects. They’re cold and sharp and awful and they hurt like nothing he’s ever experienced.

Neither of them had said anything in a while, Blue had lost track of how long it had been silent, and he realizes that the Captain is doing something with the navigation rig, but it’s also torturous and awful. He hates how silent it is, hates how painful all of this feels, but he doesn’t feel like he can do anything about it right now. Maybe he should… say something?

Maybe he should try?

“Captain?”

“Blue.”

They speak at the same time and Blue immediately snaps his mouth shut, stiffening a little. The Captain winces a tiny bit and turns to look at him, pausing in whatever it is he’d been doing with the navigation system.

“Go ahead,” the Captain says, gesturing for him to speak. 

“No,” Blue winces at how weak his voice sounds, “No, you go first.”

“Blue.”

“Captain.”

The Captain sighs, shoulders slouching ever so slightly, before he shifts in his seat to properly face Blue this time. “Blue. I just wanted to apologize.”

Blue stiffens further and he says, “Apologize? Apologize for what?”

“I’m… actually not quite sure.” Black whispers, “I’m not sure what I’ve done, but you seem to be avoiding me and I wanted to apologize for whatever I’d done to insult you.”

Black gives him a smile, gentle and kind and clearly visible behind his visor, the opacity turned all the way down. 

Something like guilt curls viciously in Blue’s gut.

_Have I been avoiding him?_

“You didn’t do anything.” He sounds a bit too frantic, leaning forward toward the Captain as if trying to reach out for him but being too afraid to actually do so. “Captain, it’s fine, _I’m_ fine. There’s nothing you’ve done.”

Black purses his lips, falling silent for a moment. Then he sighs and says, “I’ll take your word for it, Blue. But I truly am sorry if I’ve done something. My goal is always to help my crew members, so if there’s anything I can do-”

“No!” Blue winces sharply and then quickly says, “No, it’s alright. I’m okay.”

The Captain doesn’t seem convinced.

But he doesn’t say anything about it, just gives Blue a nod and turns back to the navigation system. Clicking and beeping starts filling the room as Black starts typing away and charting their course. 

And Blue?

Blue has to physically restrain himself from curling into himself and vanishing into a vent.

Green purses their lips, concern flashing in their eyes for a moment. They hadn’t said a word since Blue started talking and the silence is beginning to feel unbearable, so Blue averts his gaze and looks down at the floor, fingers lacing and unlacing over and over again as an awkward fidget. He’d only developed it when he’d taken this mission (the Captain is an enigma, he’d always been, and Blue hadn’t known how to deal with him at first) and he hadn’t gotten rid of it just yet.

He doesn’t look up for a long time and Green doesn’t say anything for just as long. It’s terrifying, way more terrifying than Blue would have expected or wanted it to be, but he can’t do anything about it now. He’s said his piece, he’s said _everything,_ and now it’s Green’s turn to speak. Waiting, though, is impossible. Blue isn’t sure what he wants Green to say, but he’d rather they say something than nothing.

Finally, _finally_ Green whispers, “Wow. I uh. Hm.”

Blue sighs and looks up at them. “Is that all you’re going to say?”

“Not sure what else you _want_ me to say, Blue.” Green says weakly, “I mean, you kinda did avoid the Captain a bit…”

“I did?” Blue blinks owlishly at them.

Green stares at him for a moment before tentatively saying, “Yes? I mean… did you not notice how you left the room almost as soon as he entered this morning for breakfast?”

Blue freezes. Had he done that?

“You didn’t notice, did you?” Green frowns ever so slightly.

Blue sighs. “Am I really so transparent?”

“If you were, we would have figured out you were an impostor way earlier, but…” Green sighs and shrugs a little, “When it comes to the Captain? You’re transparent as hell.”

“Urgh.” Blue groans, putting his hands against his helmet, wishing he could scrub at his face. 

There’s another little sigh. “I kinda figured you had noticed, Blue. Are you sure you didn’t notice?”

_“Yes,”_ Blue says weakly, “I didn’t notice.”

Green hums, crossing their arms thoughtfully. “I guess that’s… not super surprising? It can be involuntary, at least for humans I guess, but… hm.”

Blue waits.

Finally, Green whispers, “You should talk to him.”

“I know.” Blue sighs.

“No I mean you should _really_ talk to him.” Green says, more firmly this time, “You need to properly talk to him.”

It takes him far too long to respond, but when he does, his voice is soft and shaky and nervous, almost. “Is it bad that I’m scared?”

“Is it _bad?”_ Green stares at him like he’d just told them he’s three squirrels in a trench coat. “No? Why would it be bad to be scared to talk about your feelings? Feelings are scary as hell!”

“I-” Blue weakly clears his throat, “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Green says, “And, well, the Captain is probably not the worst person to have a first with.”

Blue’s cheeks burn.

“Not like that.” Green wheezes a little, “I meant-”

“I know what you meant.”

“Okay, good.” Green sighs, pushing a hand through their hair. “I’m… honestly I don’t know what else to say. I just- well, you need to talk. Communication is important in general, but it’s even more so when he’s your Captain.”

“I know,” Blue looks down at his hands with a heavy sigh. “I just feel like I can’t.”

Green frowns ever so slightly, a crease appearing between their eyebrows. “Do you think you can figure out why?”

Blue purses his lips and falls silent for a moment. He rifled through his head and every thought he’s had in the past week and a half, and comes up empty handed save for the fact that he just _can’t._ Something ugly rears in his chest, tearing at his lungs with claws of ice, and he’s bringing a hand up to grind the heel of one of his hands into his skin before he even processes it. For a long, _long_ moment, he’s silent, the words caught in his throat or not there at all. It’s an awful feeling, having nothing to say.

He tries to open his mouth, tries to lie and give Green a good reason why he can’t tell Black _anything,_ but the only thing that comes out is a breath of air. He can’t lie- he doesn’t _want_ to lie to Green. Anyone but them. 

“I don’t… have a good reason.” Blue whispers weakly, “I can’t even lie to myself, I don’t have any good reason.”

Green’s hand touches his shoulder gently, and they say, “Blue, your emotions and nervousness are a reason.”

Blue bites his lip and stays silent. 

“I really believe that they are,” Green continues, tone a bit more firm than before, “And honestly? I understand how nervous you are. It’s hard to tell someone you like them in _any_ sense, and it must be stupidly hard to tell them you like them like _that._ Just try not to feel too bad about being nervous, okay?”

“Right,” Blue huffs a little. “Sure.”

Green flicks his shoulder. “Don’t be rude.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” their voice warms with their smile. “But I do need to make sure… you do like the Captain, right?”

For a long time- a count of ninety seven- Blue is silent. But, slowly, he nods. 

“I think so, yes.”

Green squeezes his shoulder, the corners of their eyes crinkling with their smile. Their cheeks dimple with it, each one swallowing a handful of freckles, and Blue decides that they’re pretty adorable. 

“Good.” Green nods and lowers their hand into their lap. “And, Blue-”

Before they can finish their sentence, Pistachio leaps up onto the bed and squeaks at the both of them triumphantly. Their landing involves a great deal of wriggling and shimmying but, eventually, they hop to their feet proudly. Blue snorts and Green eagerly claps their hands with a playful little cheer. Pistachio seems very pleased and struts over to plop down in Green’s lap for pats. 

And, of course, Green obliges. 

“I’m sorry, Blue, I uh. Kinda forgot what I was gonna say.” Green says, sounding incredibly guilty. 

“That’s alright,” Blue shakes his head and reaches out to poke Pistachio’s little visor. “This little guy is pretty distracting. Aren’t you, nestling?”

Pistachio beeps at him and bumps their visor against his finger. 

“Nestling?” Green asks, still patting Pistachio’s head. 

“It’s- uh.” Blue flushes behind his visor. “My species lays eggs. And build nests. And the babies are called nestlings.”

“Cute.” Green grins. “How many eggs does the parent lay at once?”

Blue thinks for a moment, rifling through his memories. Then he says, “About twenty four? Not all of them survive, obviously. Getting eaten by other impostors is fairly uh. Common. It’s a way people move up in the world.”

“Cannibalism equals qualification, got it.” Green snickers, “And if _you_ get eaten…?”

“Then whoever ate you takes your position.” Blue shrugs a little. “My sister ate our city leader when she was twelve.”

Green snorts hard enough it sounds like it hurts and they dissolve into giggles, hunched over Pistachio. Blue huffs and watches, silently amused. 

Eventually, Green straightens again and sits up. “Okay, that was way funnier than I expected. Thanks for that.”

Blue tilts his head to the side. “Why are you thanking me?”

“Because you made me laugh.” Green smiles. “And it really made my day. So thank you.”

“Oh.” Blue feels himself flush. “I. Well. Anyone would have done the same.”

“I mean, sure, but you’re sweet, Blue.” Green gives him a little thumbs up. 

Blue copies the action. Pistachio squeaks. 

Very helpful bean. 

And later, when Blue is perched alone in one of the windows in navigation (he’s covering the night shift again), he does some serious thinking and has approximately nineteen existential crises in the process. It isn’t exactly what he would call ‘fun,’ but by the end, he’s come to a decision. He just hopes it doesn’t go as poorly as he’s expecting it to.


	9. In the Cafeteria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brown is merciful and also ignores his embarrassment. “And how is your quest?”
> 
> Blue stares at them for a moment, confused. Then, slowly, he says, “I’m… sorry, but I don’t understand.”
> 
> “Your quest in speaking with the Captain.”
> 
> Blue chokes and sputters for a moment, staring at Brown as if they’d just grown another eight heads or so. As long as it takes him to recover, Brown just watches in kind silence, waiting for him to be able to breathe and speak again. Their gaze burns into him, but it isn’t exactly unpleasant, all things considered.
> 
> Finally, though, he manages to rasp, “Purple told you?”
> 
> “Purple tells me everything,” Brown says vaguely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Part nine, baby. This is where the PlotTM I mentioned last update starts uwu. It doesn't last particularly long, as we only have a handful more chapters to go, but I do hope you enjoy this.
> 
> No warnings apply. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It takes him maybe forty eight hours to finally come to a conclusion but, after said forty eight hours, Blue decides that yes, he is going to tell the Captain that he feels… _something._ He hasn’t quite decided what he’s going to say specifically, but he’ll definitely be saying something. That is, if his voice ends up working. And he ends up remembering how to speak English. And his knees don’t give out and his lungs don’t collapse and he doesn’t shrivel up and die until the Captain’s mismatched, piercing, _beautiful_ gaze. 

Purple had told him yet again that he had it bad when they were working on something in communications together, and suffice it to say Blue has actively avoided being alone in a room with them because he doesn’t know if he’ll survive another round of teasing. 

“Morning, Blue.”

Brown’s soft voice pulls him out of his thoughts and Blue looks up at them and gives them a little wave in greeting. “Morning.”

“How are you?” Brown had stopped asking how he’d slept after they learned he was an impostor, and the change just seemed so effortless. They had also altered a few everyday things to be considerate and Blue honestly finds it really sweet. 

“I’m okay.” Blue shrugs lightly, still haphazardly picking at his breakfast, one of his legs bouncing beneath the table. 

Brown raises an elegantly penciled eyebrow at him and says, “Are you, now?”

“Yes.” Blue says, ignoring the way his cheeks heat up ever so slightly. “Yes, I am. How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Brown is merciful and also ignores his embarrassment. “And how is your quest?”

Blue stares at them for a moment, confused. Then, slowly, he says, “I’m… sorry, but I don’t understand.”

“Your quest in speaking with the Captain.”

Blue chokes and sputters for a moment, staring at Brown as if they’d just grown another eight heads or so. As long as it takes him to recover, Brown just watches in kind silence, waiting for him to be able to breathe and speak again. Their gaze burns into him, but it isn’t exactly unpleasant, all things considered.

Finally, though, he manages to rasp, “Purple told you?”

“Purple tells me everything,” Brown says vaguely, “but you’ve nothing to worry about. I’m not going to tell anyone. Mind you, Purple might. They are themself, after all.”

“I know,” Blue deflates against the table, nudging his tray of food out of the way so he can press his face against the cool surface. “I kinda regret telling them? But also… they’re the only other uh…”

“The only other impostor.” Brown finishes for him.

Blue winces ever so slightly. “Yeah.”

“You needn’t feel bad about seeking out someone’s help, Blue,” Brown says kindly, “it’s understandable, after all.”

“But we’re still-”

“Impostors?”

“Yeah.” Blue sighs and peeks up at them from under his arms, finding their dark eyes fixed on his face. “It’s still weird.”

“For you it may be.” Brown shrugs, “For me it’s not. I’m never one to judge by appearance or parentage. My mother was a violent drunk and my father was killed by a rival gang member when I was five, so if anyone is going to judge you here, it won't be me.”

For a moment, Blue just stares at them, shocked by their transparency and honesty and unbridled _bluntness._ Then he very weakly rasps, “Thanks.”

Brown gives him a nod, satisfied, and starts to eat. “Do sit up if you’re going to eat, Blue. Digesting like that will be difficult even if your stomach is in your throat.”

“My stomach isn’t in my throat.” Blue mutters, but he sits up all the same.

The doors on the left side of the cafeteria open with a puff of air and quick footsteps cross the room. Blue looks up and catches sight of the Captain, feeling his heart do something absolutely stupid in his chest. But the Captain doesn’t look at him, doesn’t look at _anyone,_ instead he just walks right across the room to the other doors.

Blue feels himself freeze up. He can’t do this.

“Go on,” Brown hisses at him, “Go.”

“What?” Blue hisses back. “He seems busy! I can’t just interrupt!”

“Yes, you can.” Brown frowns at him. _“Go.”_

And Blue has no choice but to obey.

He stands and goes hurrying after the Captain, awkwardly pulling his helmet back on and sealing it shut to his suit. THe doors are right about to close when he gets there, but they ping and open up for him when he gets close enough. Then, once he’s successfully in the hallway, they slide shut behind him. The Captain pauses and turns to look at him and waits for Blue to catch up.

“Blue,” he says, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Blue says, likely way too quickly. “Hey, can I talk to you about something?”

“I-”

“It’s just for a second.” Blue says, even quicker. 

“Blue,” the Captain sighs heavily, and Blue notices a tension in his shoulders that isn’t usually there. “I’d love to speak with you, but I’m afraid I don’t have time right now. I’m so sorry, Blue.”

Oh.

Blue swallows and shakes his head, “No, that’s fine.”

The Captain sighs again, shoulders stiffening further. “I promise, as soon as I’ve dealt with this- this idiot transmission, we will talk.”

Blue nods, not trusting himself to speak.

“Alright,” the Captain says, guilt edging into his voice as he edges away towards the communications room. “I’m sorry again, Blue.”

“No, go ahead.” Blue gestures vaguely in the direction the Captain had been heading.

Black gives him a grateful little half bow and almost sprints away.

It’s fine.

The transmission ends up being not an easy thing to fix, as the Captain vanishes for the rest of the conceivable day, and it does something absolutely atrocious to Blue’s heart. He tries really hard not to sulk or pout or anything, but by the time lunch has rolled around and passed he’s fully into the sulky walk and slouched posture. He’d finally worked up the courage to say- well, he isn’t quite sure what exactly he was going to say, but he’d worked up the courage to say _something,_ so why-

“Blue,”

Blue jumps and fumbles the USB stick he’d stuck into the downloads panel in weapons, almost dropping it to the floor where it would almost certainly be gone forever because there’s a vent right there. When the USB is no longer in mortal peril, however, he turns and finds Cyan perched like a cat on the arm of the weapons chair, staring at him. The opacity of her visor is all the way down, giving him a perfect view of her face and the concern in her eyes.

“Cyan,” Blue says weakly, pressing a hand to his chest once the USB is securely in the slot on the wall. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

She smiles at him, eyes sparkling. “No, that’s alright.”

Then her expression falls again and she says, “Is something wrong?”

“I-” Blue stiffens. Then forcefully un-stiffens. “No, nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?”

“Hm.” Cyan just looks at him for a moment, almost pouting. “I… have a hard time believing that.”

“I’m _fine,_ Cyan.” Blue says more firmly. “Promise.”

“Pinky promise?” Cyan holds up her hand and sticks out her pinky, something she’d told Blue about during their first week on the ship.

Blue hesitates.

Cyan lowers her hand into her lap again and sighs a little. “Listen, Blue, we may not be super close, but I can tell something’s wrong. Even _Pink_ knows something’s wrong, and you know how inept she is.”

It’s true. Pink had remained completely blind to Cyan’s feelings for her for at _least_ three months, if not more. It had taken Cyan yanking off her helmet and kissing her in the middle of the cafeteria in front of _everyone_ to convince her. And even then Pink had still taken some time to fully figure it out. Pink is _dense._

Blue sighs. “I… I’m okay. I know you won’t believe me…”

“I don't believe you because you’re so clearly _not_ fine,” Cyan says quietly, “And I’m gonna be honest, I’m kinda worried.”

“You’re…” Blue stares at her. “You’re worried about me.”

“I mean of _course_ I am!” Cyan cries, “You’re part of the crew! I’m not just going to ignore it when you wander around aimlessly and take on tasks we all know you don’t like!”

“Am I really that obvious?” Blue asks weakly.

Cyan nods her head. “A little. I mean… we all know you don’t like doing downloads, and…”

She gestures vaguely to the download panel behind him.

“Point taken.” Blue sighs. “I uh. I’m just. Working through something.”

“Is this about the Captain?”

Blue chokes. “Who _else knows?”_

“Uh.” Cyan twitches and rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. “Just Brown, Purple, and I. I overheard them talking about it and- gods, I'm sorry, Blue.”

“It’s okay.” Blue sighs, “It’s fine. I’m…”

His voice peters out into nothing. Neither he nor Cyan make a sound for a long, long time. Blue isn’t sure he’s breathing properly, really. This wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise (it’s not like he _needs_ to breathe like humans do), but… it’s not the most comfortable.

The thing that breaks the silence is the little beep of the download panel telling Blue the download is finished and that he can take the USB stick to admin to upload the data. Blue would never admit it, but he jumps in surprise at the beep. So does Cyan, if the squeak and the shifting fabric and the little soft thud is any indication. When Blue turns back to look at her, he finds her scrambling around in the weapons chair to try to straighten herself out. She looks like a messy pile of limbs and it’s oddly hilarious.

But Blue manages to stifle any noises he might make and instead straightens up to walk over and retrieve the USB stick. Once it has been safely ejected, he tucks it into his pocket and turns to find Cyan more or less untangled and curled up in the chair properly.

“I tried to talk to him.” Blue says, words sudden enough to make Cyan squeak again. “I did. This morning, actually. But he… brushed me off.”

Cyan frowns behind her visor. “I… he brushed you off? That doesn’t sound like him…”

“I know!” Blue throws his arms in the air in frustration. “And I don’t know what to do about it! Because if I can’t talk to him, then we can’t sort anything out and I can’t ask why he did that or if he hates me!”

“He doesn’t hate you, Blue.” Cyan says softly.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because the Captain doesn’t lie about important stuff!” Cyan says, climbing to her feet. “Has he _ever_ lied about anything important to the crew before?”

“No,” Blue says, “but is this really important enough to not lie about?”

“Blue!” Cyan sounds _beyond_ exasperated, voice mounting in volume. “You’re a member of our crew! And he _cares about you!_ He wouldn’t _lie_ to someone he _cares about!”_

Blue huffs and yanks off his helmet and tosses it to the side. Once his face is revealed, he presses the heels of his hands against his eyes and scrubs at his face. It’s… not comfortable by any means, but he just can’t fathom that the Captain genuinely thinks he’s important enough to-

“Hey,”

Blue shuts his mouth.

_Has my brain to mouth filter really broken down that much?_

Cyan gently touches his arm. “Blue?”

“I-” Blue sinks his teeth into his lower lip. “Cyan, I-”

“I know,” Cyan whispers, “It’s uh. Not easy to move past that whole ‘self loathing’ thing, huh?”

Blue lowers his hands and stares at her for a moment. Then he says, “You… I mean, you-”

“Blue, trust me.” Cyan sighs, “I know more than enough about not feeling good enough to be with someone you love.”

She hugs herself, never once breaking eye contact, and Blue suddenly feels a touch more human.

Or…

Whatever the phrase may be.

“I’ll go talk to him.” Blue whispers, “I… don’t know how far I’ll get, but.”

“You got this.” Cyan smiles at him from behind her visor. “Want me to walk you there?”

Blue hesitates. Then, slowly, he nods.

Cyan’s smile grows and she gestures for him to follow. “Come on, then.”

Blue ends up going to comms alone. 

Cyan walks him most of the way there, past navigation and through shields, but then the shields ping loudly and a warning appears on the little terminal screen. She looks so guilty when she says she should probably check it out, but she sends Blue on his way with a wish of good luck and a little faith. And she even nudges his arm companionably.

But then Blue is standing in front of the closed comms door and he feels like he would rather leap out the airlock than face Black right now.

The door is firmly closed, but not locked from what Blue can tell, and there’s the humming of machinery from behind the door. He can hear the Captain talking in there as well, but the door is just enough to muffle the Captain’s words so he can’t make them out. It’s well-engineered, but it’s also annoying because Blue is anxious. Even with his better hearing in comparison to a human’s, he can’t make out anything the Captain is saying.

From what he can hear though, he can tell the Captain is exhausted and sounds fairly… guarded isn’t the right word. He sounds trapped, like he’s trying to talk his way out of a problem that may equate to a grave at some point. It’s not exactly _comforting_ to hear his Captain sound trapped, but Blue doubts anything about this experience would be comforting in any sense. He’s here to, what, confess his feelings to the Captain? Nothing about that screams ‘comfortable’ to him.

For a moment or two, he feels a bit like he should just turn tail and leave while he still has what dignity is left in him, but he also feels like he really should stop avoiding this. But this is also a bad time, but he shouldn’t put it off because it’ll only get more painful, but he also doesn’t want to do it at all because how does the Captain feel-

_Stop._ he tells himself, _Stop before you rile yourself up and upset yourself over nothing._

With a long, shuddering breath, Blue forces down his sense of panic and raises a trembling hand up to the door. He knocks in his best imitation of what humans tended to do, and waits for a response.

There’s a quiet ‘oh, hold on one second,’ and then hurried footsteps.

And then the door opens and the Captain is staring up at him.

“Blue,” he sounds utterly baffled, “Did you need something? Is there something wrong?”

“Um.” Blue clears his throat, “No, there’s nothing wrong. Nothing’s on fire.”

He tries to make it sound like a joke but his tone falls flat and the Captain bristles. Blue winces at his own tone. Gods, he should be better at jokes by now.

After a moment, the Captain sighs softly and nods, “Alright, good. I’m glad everything’s okay. Did you need anything, though?”

_Ah._

Blue had almost forgotten about that part.

“No,” he says, “I mean yes, I did need to speak with you about something, but it’s not urgent-”

“If you need to speak with me,” the Captain’s tone is softer now, almost as if he’s gently talking Blue down from a panic, “I am always ready to listen.”

“Oh,” Blue says, voice a little reedy for a moment.

“But,” the Captain sighs just a little, “I am a tad busy at the moment.”

Blue’s heart sinks to his toes. “That’s alright.”

“Blue,” Black’s tone softens further, “We will talk. I _promise_ we will talk. I just need to sort out this issue right now. As soon as I am done, we can talk for as long as you need.”

Blue nods. “Okay. I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“Please, there’s nothing to apologize for.” Black shakes his head. “Now… if you’ll excuse me?”

“Uh. Right. Sorry.” Blue steps back and gestures a little for the Captain to return to what he’d been doing.

The Captain’s smile is obvious in his voice. “No need to apologize, Blue.”

It’s all Blue can do to nod.

With that, the Captain slips back into the comms room and shuts the door behind him. There are footsteps, Blue counts them, and then there’s the Captain’s voice seemingly apologizing for the interruption and the other voices saying _something_ that Blue hopes is positive. And then the conversation continues as it had before.

But Blue notices the door isn’t closed all the way and, because this moment couldn’t be any worse for his heart, he hears the conversation.

“-heard correctly, yes.” That’s the Captain. “I’m not sure how many more times I’ll have to say it.”

_“I just want a recap,”_ the other voice is that of a woman’s. _“So he’s an impostor.”_

“We’re going in circles, Admiral.” Black sounds tired.

_“Have been for the past six hours.”_ The woman says, _“So have you decided what you’re going to do about him?”_

“I…” there’s a long moment of silence as the Captain is completely silent. Then, finally, he sighs and says, “No. I don’t know what to do.”

_“Well you’re lucky I’m on your side.”_ The woman says, _“Seriously, this could get you killed.”_

Blue stiffens.

“Thank you, Admiral, I hadn’t realized.” The Captain sounds immensely sarcastic. 

_“Don’t get snippy with me, Captain.”_

The Captain sighs, “I’m sorry. Just… gods, I don’t know what to do.”

_“I feel like you do,”_ the woman says calmly, _“And you’re just scared to do it.”_

“I never liked politics.” The Captain whispers, “And I hate… _this.”_

_“I know, kid, I know.”_ The woman sighs. _“But we do have to figure out how we’re going to hide it from ‘em.”_

Blue’s stomach drops into his feet and he rips himself away from the door.

“We can’t kill him, Admiral.” The Captain’s words fade down the hallway behind him. 

_“Keeping him might get you killed.”_

He’s heard enough.

Blue walks quickly down the hallway toward his dorm room, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He rips off his helmet and throws it to the floor for a moment, pushing his hands into his hair and gripping it in fists.

And then he gets an idea.

_I don’t need to breathe…_ his movements are robotic, _I’ll be fine. Maybe a ship will pick me up._

His fingers tremble as he presses the button to seal the gate to the airlock behind him.

_I’ll be fine._


	10. In the Vacuum of Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s not… _cold_ out here.
> 
> Well, objectively, it’s far below freezing. Lower than negative 270 degrees Celsius (one of the two measurements of temperature humans use that he thinks made the most sense), but it’s not… it doesn’t feel cold.
> 
> Mind you, Blue doesn’t feel much of anything out here. He’d abandoned his suit and helmet, and his nerves are shot. His lungs are dead by now, collapsed in his chest, and he can feel the coma beginning to lap at his consciousness. He’s going to pass out soon, he knows it, but he can’t seem to get the sense that he’s being watched out of his head.
> 
> He isn’t being watched, there isn’t a living thing anywhere near him, but he can still feel eyes drilling into what could count as his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello!
> 
> Welcome to the next part of Welcome to the Team! Last part made people mad uwu but this one should be fun. And not to worry, the Captain is always here to keep his crew safe.
> 
> Enjoy!

It’s not… _cold_ out here.

Well, objectively, it’s far below freezing. Lower than negative 270 degrees Celsius (one of the two measurements of temperature humans use that he thinks made the most sense), but it’s not… it doesn’t feel cold.

Mind you, Blue doesn’t feel much of anything out here. He’d abandoned his suit and helmet, and his nerves are shot. His lungs are dead by now, collapsed in his chest, and he can feel the coma beginning to lap at his consciousness. He’s going to pass out soon, he knows it, but he can’t seem to get the sense that he’s being watched out of his head.

He isn’t being watched, there isn’t a living thing anywhere near him, but he can still feel eyes drilling into what could count as his back. 

The look on the Captain’s face is burned into his mind by now. He’d looked horrified when Blue had kicked off the cafeteria window. It shouldn’t be sticking with him like it is, it hadn’t mattered after all, but…

_Why did he have to look so sad?_

Keeping Blue on the ship would have led to the entire crew’s arrests and potentially the Captain’s execution, so this is for the best. He hadn’t been able to leave without being noticed, and there had been no damn escape pods left, but he just hopes the Captain comes to his senses and realizes this is for the best. 

Something in Blue’s chest grates against his ribs, something like venom.

_Ignore it._

The silence is deafening. It’s painful. It hurts like nothing he’s ever felt.

But the thing in his chest is almost worse.

_Let him go._ the words repeat over and over in his head, _Let him go._

For a long, long few minutes, Blue curls closer into himself, body shrinking and shifting and preparing to drop into cool, dark nothingness for a while. It’s not a comfortable process by any means, but it isn’t exactly something he can avoid. If he wants to survive his venture into the vacuum of space, however, this is more than a little necessary. 

Something flashes in the corner of his eye and, as panic grips his heart, he turns to look in the direction of the flash and-

_It’s nothing._ the panic in his blood melts back to nothing. _It’s nothing._

And his mind fades to black.

And then it is very much not nothing.

Two hands grab his sides, rough but impossibly gentle at the same time, and Blue nearly gets whiplash with how fast he returns to consciousness. Panic grips his heart in a vice-like grip, claws sinking it, and he starts to thrash, fighting the grip of whatever the fuck grabbed him. He needs to go, he needs to fight, because whatever this is is a threat and he needs to _go-_

The shape of the suit and the visor and the face _behind_ the visor are familiar and, as it all hits Blue at once, he feels ice fill his veins.

The Captain’s eyes are wild with fear, bright and scared and something else that Blue can’t quite place. His movements are frantic as he shoves _something_ around Blue’s middle, and Blue can’t even thrash before the thing tightens and pulls him flush to the Captain’s front. He realizes now, as the Captain’s propulsion gear activates and sends them hurtling in one of the millions of directions around them, that he’s in his natural form and the Captain _saw him._

He’s pulled from his thoughts when the Captain touches what could be the back of his head. It’s so gentle Blue feels something catch in his throat. He isn’t _breathing_ so it can’t be air, but it still hurts like shards of glass. 

The silence around them is venomous and Blue wishes he could hear the Captain. Is he speaking? Is he just silent in whatever emotion he’s feeling? Why can’t Blue get a read on him?

He’d never been able to get much of a read on him, but he’d never regretted his lack of ability to do so until now.

The ship is in view sooner than Blue wants it to. He doesn’t want to talk to the Captain, he wants to see what the Captain is thinking, he never wants to see the Captain again. The emotions whirling in his mind are more painful than he wants them to be, he should have just let the Captain go like he wanted to, but for some fucking reason nothing had worked.

And then they’re on the storage room floor and the airlock is closed behind them.

Blue inhales sharply, lungs abruptly filling with air, and it hurts like nothing he’d ever experienced. He curls onto his side and coughs raggedly against the floor, hacking and gasping desperately for air. Everything hurts. Everything _hurts._

But nothing could hurt more than the way the Captain says his name.

It’s quiet and soft and miserable and everything Blue never wanted to hear.

The Captain doesn’t touch him as Blue sucks in air and tries to re-form a shape that’s remotely easier to look at than the mass of writhing tentacles and meat he had become out in the vacuum.

Finally, _finally,_ he manages to look vaguely human and looks up at the Captain, eyes wet with tears and lips parted as he gasps for air.

The look on the Captain’s face is just as unreadable as before, eyes wide and eyebrows scrunched together and lips pursed- when had he taken off his helmet?- and it hurts to look at. But something in the Captain’s eyes keeps him still.

“Blue,” the Captain breathes again, voice soft and miserable enough to make Blue flinch. “Blue, _why?_ Why did you- I don’t- _why?”_

For a moment, Blue can hardly process what the Captain had said. 

Eventually, he rasps, voice wet and gravelly, “You’re going to be killed.”

Finally Blue can read the expression on the Captain’s face:

Horror.

“You-” the Captain splutters for a moment before saying, voice almost hysterical, “You leapt out the airlock because you’re worried I’m going to be _killed?!”_

Blue coughs, a clot of blood landing on the storage room floor with a soft, wet _splat._

“You can’t just-” Black grabs Blue by the shoulders and lifts him so they’re eye level, strength more than enough to force the air from Blue’s lungs. “You can’t just _throw yourself out the airlock_ because you’re _worried.”_

“And why not?!” Blue shoves the Captain and scoots backward, away from him. “You can’t- you’re keeping _two impostors_ on your fucking ship, you can’t just _do that,_ Captain!”

“You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do.” The Captain’s voice is sharp, poisonous, and Blue flinches as if he’d been struck. His eyes burn with something furious, something Blue wouldn’t dare stand up against. “You are a member of my _crew,_ Blue. I am your Captain. You do not tell me what I can and cannot do.”

“I- but you’re going to get in so much trouble!”

“You’re worried about me?” Black frowns lightly, “About the crew?”

Blue nods. “I heard in the comms room-”

The Captain swears under his breath and says, “What you heard, which you shouldn’t have, was myself and the Admiral trying to figure out how to keep _you_ safe from HQ.”

“But- But Captain-”

“Blue,” the Captain says, “My crew is safe. And if they’re not, I will deal with it. And you just so happen to be a member of my crew. Therefore I will do as much as I can to keep you safe and to protect you.”

Blue struggles to speak again, but no words come out. And, after a long moment, he bows his head and tries not to shake. Above him, the Captain sighs softly and yanks off his glove after unsealing it from his suit, and reaches forward to touch Blue’s face, touch impossibly gentle.

“You do not get to tell me what I can and cannot do.” The Captain says again, barely a whisper, “Now please, Blue, breathe for a moment.”

Blue obeys, inhaling slowly and exhaling twice as slowly. He doesn’t speak until his heart takes residence in his chest again, doesn’t speak until the Captain seems satisfied.

“Alright,” Blue’s voice trembles, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

The forgiveness gives him whiplash, yanking his voice from his throat in a sound that resembles the noise Purple had made when Cyan had punched them in the gut. 

It’s all too familiar.

It’s familiar and it _hurts._

Blue ducks his head again and stares at the floor, something burning in his eyes and blurring his vision. The Captain’s hand never truly leaves his cheek, soft and gentle and everything Blue had never believed he could have.

“Blue,” the Captain whispers, voice thick in his throat, “I _trust you._ You can’t just- you can’t just _leave_ when I…”

The storage room is silent for a long moment.

Then, finally, Black whispers, “You can’t just leave when I think I might love you.”

Blue’s heart leaps into his throat and he looks up at the Captain, eyes too wide and hands trembling hard enough to make even him concerned.

“What?” Blue rasps, voice barely audible, “You… _what?”_

“We can talk later.” The Captain averts his eyes, shame colouring his cheeks in a curious display of vulnerability that Blue would have never expected to see. “You need rest.”

“Captain, I’m fine-”

“You need rest.”

“But-”

“Blue.” 

“Captain,” Black finally looks at him, face once again schooled and unreadable. “Please.”

The Captain’s thumb traces a soft circle against Blue’s imitation cheekbone. It takes everything in Blue’s body to not lean into the touch like a man starved.

“Fine,” Blue whispers, “Fine.”

“Thank you.” Black nods a little, eyes going impossibly soft. “I’ll walk you there.”

Blue nods, something numb spreading through his body.

The Captain helps him to his feet, every touch burning, and they both turn to walk down the hallway. Blue doesn’t let himself lean into the Captain’s side more than necessary, but the Captain’s hand on his back is more than enough to keep him close. As they walk, Blue almost doesn't breathe.

When they reach Blue’s door, the Captain turns to him, hands on his shoulders keeping him still. For a moment, they just stare at each other.

Then the Captain just gives Blue a soft smile and squeezes his shoulders softly. He whispers, “Rest, Blue. And if you jump out any other airlocks…”

Blue ducks his head, swallowing nervously. “Right. Yes, sir.”

“None of that.” The Captain says, “Rest.”

“Right.”

As soon as the door closes behind Blue, he collapses to the floor, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek into the cold surface of the floor. He knots his hands into his hair, grabbing it in fistfuls, and viciously fights the oddly suffocating feeling beginning to well up in his chest. It hurts like nothing he’d ever experienced, vials of poison bursting and filling his chest. 

It’s a slow sort of dissolving, when Blue starts to cry, but it’s not any less painful for it. 

But he’s still silent and, when he finally passes out, he’s sufficiently dehydrated and exhausted.

Dread is the last thing he remembers before he’s unconscious.

_Why had the Captain said that?_


	11. In Medbay (Again x2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He isn’t out for long, the clock next to his bed telling him he’d only been out for four hours when he wakes. 
> 
> He’s sore all over, joints creaking as he gets to his feet from where he’d been lying face down on the floor. It’s pitiful, the way the tear tracks streaking his cheeks make him wince, but Blue’s exhaustion is strong enough he can’t bring himself to care. He gets dressed slowly, the method is routine by now, and it’s not long before Blue is sealing his helmet to the top of his suit.
> 
> When he lowers his hands back to his side, his fingers start trembling as if he’s nervous about- what is he _nervous_ about?
> 
> Well. Everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> We're officially in the final stretch of this lil story uwu. Next time is the final official chapter, and the one after that is the epilogue! That one will come out the day after the last chapter uwu.
> 
> I'm very excited. This chapter has a whole bunch of cute interaction between Green and Blue. They're very good friends and I love them so much.
> 
> Enjoy!

He isn’t out for long, the clock next to his bed telling him he’d only been out for four hours when he wakes. 

He’s sore all over, joints creaking as he gets to his feet from where he’d been lying face down on the floor. It’s pitiful, the way the tear tracks streaking his cheeks make him wince, but Blue’s exhaustion is strong enough he can’t bring himself to care. He gets dressed slowly, the method is routine by now, and it’s not long before Blue is sealing his helmet to the top of his suit.

When he lowers his hands back to his side, his fingers start trembling as if he’s nervous about- what is he _nervous_ about?

Well. Everything.

Everything about how he’d been grabbed and pulled back to the ship, everything about the interaction in the storage room, just everything. It’s frustrating, how much of a whirlwind his thoughts have become, but he’s accepted by now that there is only one way to truly figure out and sort through his thoughts. He has to talk to the Captain. Properly. Finally.

As he walks blindly down the hallway, the only thing he can tangibly focus on is the echo of his footsteps. It’s short and muted and nothing pretty, but it’s there. He matches his breaths to the sounds of his footsteps, pace slowing as he keeps walking, and even though he has no physical need to breathe at all, it’s still soothing to a degree. It’ll take him forever to reach wherever the Captain is like this, but he can’t bring himself to care.

He’d bet money that the Captain is in navigation, running through their course and covering the night watch and not sleeping. Blue almost huffs a short, bitter laugh at the idea. Now that he’s thinking about it, the Captain isn’t all that good at taking care of himself, from what Blue can tell.

Maybe the Captain will let Blue scold him.

“Captain,”

Or not.

Blue freezes and opens his eyes, looking just a little to the right to see the doors to medbay sitting open. He quickly steps over to stand next to the doors so he’s out of sight. And, even though he knows he shouldn’t, he listens.

“Green-”

“No, no, no, you don't get to scold me.”

Blue almost snorts a laugh at the way the Captain groans in seeming defeat, and he can picture the way he slumps and pushes his hands through his hair. Green sounds very done and a little tired and, if Blue didn’t know better, he’d say they had just woken up.

“Captain,” they say, “you may be my best friend, but you’re being an idiot about this.”

“Is that any way to speak to your Captain?” The Captain asks weakly.

“When he’s being a moron it is!” Green huffs, “You can’t just- you can’t just tell him you might love him and then _run for it!”_

“I didn’t run for it.” The Captain says.

“Mhm, and you _didn’t_ brew coffee with monster energy back when we were trainees so you could survive exams.” Green snaps. “You’re being an idiot and also a coward-”

“I-”

“Shush.”

The Captain sighs heavily enough it almost sounds like he’s deflating.

“Black,” Green’s tone softens, “I care about you. I really really do. But you’re avoiding a conversation that really needs to happen. If not for your sake, then for mine and for the rest of the crew. And for Blue’s sake. You’re essentially pulling a Scar right now, holding him over the cliff and not even _I’m_ sure you’re gonna drop him.”

“I’m not going to-” Black splutters, “He’s- I care about him, Green, I’m not going to-”

“You’re avoiding the conversation enough that it almost feels like you’re going to chicken out before you can do anything.”

Black sighs again.

When he speaks next, his words are muffled and, when Blue peeks around the corner, he sees the Captain’s got his face buried in Green’s shoulder, arms looped around their waist.

“I’m sorry.” Black says weakly. “I’m sorry.”

Green sighs, shaking their head as they trace one hand through the Captain’s hair. “Don’t apologize to me.”

“But-”

“Don’t.” Green says again, “You just need to talk to him. _Please,_ Black.”

“I…” Black says weakly. Then he deflates further into Green’s embrace. “Okay. I’ll talk to him. Promise.”

“Good. You’d better keep good on that promise.” 

“I will.” Black nods. “Thanks, Green.”

Green grins. “Don’t thank me, Cap’n. Now go.”

The Captain nods again and slowly sits up, messing with his hair for a moment before picking up his helmet. He stands almost reluctantly, and that’s when Blue realizes that the Captain is very much about to see him and realize he’d been listening. So, because he is very logical, thank you very much, Blue rips himself from the door and makes a break for it down the hallway.

He doesn’t stop until he’s safely in the security room, leaning against the wall and trying not to panic. For a long moment, he thinks the Captain heard him. But, eventually, he realizes that the hallway is too silent to indicate the Captain had heard anything, so he slowly sinks to the floor, back still pressed to the wall.

_I can’t do this._ Blue thinks to himself, trying not to dissolve again. _Gods, I can’t do this._

“Ahem.”

Blue nearly jumps out of his skin.

Green bursts out laughing, leaning against the wall next to him and slowly sitting down next to him. While Blue tries to get his heart back in his chest, he tries not to wonder too hard about how Green is here. 

“Blue,” Green sounds a tad breathless, “Gods, that was funny. I’m so sorry.”

Blue groans and puts his head between his knees. “Don’t sneak up on me.”

“Sorry!”

“I didn’t even know if you could be upright right now.” Blue sighs heavily. “How did you even manage to get here before I noticed?!”

“I walked.” Green shrugs, still grinning and not hiding their laughter very well. “I’m trying to work on getting around more and more to adjust, y’know? And I guess this seemed like a good use of my time.”

They grin brightly.

Blue frowns. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Positive.” Green nods. “And are you okay?”

“I-”

Green pulls him into a hug.

For several moments too long, Blue is stiff and silent, unsure of what the hell he’s supposed to do. But, eventually, he manages to get himself under control, and he slowly hugs Green back. The two of them fall silent for a long few minutes. It’s… really nice.

Eventually, though, Green mutters, “You can’t just throw yourself out the airlock, Blue.”

“Ah,” Blue says weakly, “So… the Captain told you?”

“Mhm.” Green nods and hugs him tighter. “You can’ just- you can’t just _do that._ I know you’re not human, but there’s a really high chance you’d never land anywhere and never be seen again, and…”

Blue waits in silence.

“And I’d miss you.” Green sighs, “I know that sounds really immature and childish, but I’d really miss you! You’re my friend!”

“I-” Blue’s voice cracks and he exhales shakily. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you, though?” Green whispers, “I have a feeling you meant to do it.”

“I did mean to. But I- I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Leaving hurt.”

“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt by the authorities-”

“Blue,” Green says quietly, “please don’t. Trust me, I get that you’re self sacrificial and all that, I get it. But you can’t just- you can’t just decide what’s better for other people because you think you’re what’s wrong with the world.”

Blue swallows and stays silent.

“We care about you, stupid. We’d rather fight for you than lose you without a fight.” Green sighs.

“I-” something burns in Blue’s eyes. “What-”

“This wasn’t supposed to get sappy.” Green mutters, “But I mean it. We do care about you. A lot.”

“I-”

“Just say ‘okay’.”

“Um.” Blue swallows. “Okay.”

Green hums and slowly pulls away from the hug, smiling at Blue in a way that seems like they’d start to cry if provoked. Then they reach up and pat his head. Blue makes a noise that almost sounds like a confused puppy, and Green’s smile tilts a little, growing a bit crooked and goofy for a moment.

“I uh…” Green eventually lowers their hand from his head. “You should talk to the Captain.”

“And you should get back to medbay.” Blue says.

Green sighs and shoves him a little, though Blue notices their posture is growing a tad weak. “I know. Uh. Want to walk together? We’re going in the same direction…”

Slowly, Blue nods. “Sure.”

Green smiles and slowly gets to their feet. Blue quickly hops upright and helps them stand straight again, one hand on one of their shoulders and the other below their elbow. Green gives him a little nod of thanks and mumbles something under their breath (Blue can see them blush and it’s unfairly cute) and then, together, they start walking back down the hallway.

Blue lets Green set the pace, as they’re the injured one out of the two of them, and the two of them begin to make their way back to medbay.

Green’s stamina is improving, that much is obvious, but Blue still notes that they’re still not in as good shape as they had been. Guilt laps at his lungs when he realizes that he could have prevented Green getting injured if he’d arrived sooner-

There’s a soft, sleepy noise from beside him and, when Blue turns to look, Green leans against his side. They’re blinking slowly, eyes a tad foggy.

“Sorry,” Green mumbles, giving him a sleepy smile. “I’m not at my best right now.”

Blue blinks at them for a moment, considering. Then he scoops Green up into his arms and continues walking down the hallway. They squeak a little when he picks them up, eyes widening to the sizes of dinner plates, but as Blue keeps walking, they seem to relax into his chest. They even make a little noise that’s _almost_ a laugh.

“Well aren’t you a gentleman.” Green says, “You don’t have to carry me, Blue. I can walk.”

“You don’t have to, though.” Blue reaches the medbay doors and nudges the button with his elbow to open them. Once they’re open, he slips inside and walks over to Green’s bed.

Getting them onto the bed is a little awkward and gets a few laughs out of the both of them. Blue apologizes about half a million times, Green tells him it’s okay half a billion times, and Pistachio hops into Green’s lap and is all around the least helpful jellybean. Eventually, though, they’re on their back against the pillows, hugging Pistachio to their chest and blinking sleepily.

“Get some rest.” Blue says softly, patting their head awkwardly.

Green hums and says, “Only if you promise to talk to the Captain.”

“I-” Blue swallows. “I will.”

“D’you promise?”

“I promise.” Blue nods.

“Good.” Green closes their eyes and snuggles back into the pillows a little more. “Good luck, Blue.”

“Thanks. Sleep well.”

The dread and anxiety only settles in properly when the medbay doors are closed.


	12. In Navigation (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes Blue ten minutes to manage to scrounge up enough courage to knock. He feels a bit silly, standing there and trying to psyche himself up to knock, but he also can’t just _do it._ No matter how he rationalizes it to himself (this isn’t something he should be so terrified of, this is stupid, he shouldn’t be freaking out like this, etc.) he just can’t bring himself to knock.
> 
> But, eventually, he decides that he isn’t going to get any proper rest until he talks to the Captain. And, of course, he’d made a promise to Green, so he doubts he can get out of this.
> 
> Finally, he knocks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back to Welcome to the Team.
> 
> This is the final proper chapter! I'm very excited. There is still an epilogue to come (tomorrow!), but for now I just want to say that I'm very grateful for the positive reception to this little fic. It really makes my day whenever I see any sort of response to my writing, but this one was overwhelmingly positive and I can't express how much I appreciate you all. 
> 
> And, of course, special thanks to my [friend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maz_of_oolacile/gifts) for allowing me to borrow the wonderful dork known as Blue. The dynamic between Black and Blue is phenomenal and I'm so so so grateful. I love you very much and thank you again for letting me borrow your boi ;w;
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this final proper chapter of Welcome to the Team.
> 
> <3

It takes Blue ten minutes to manage to scrounge up enough courage to knock. He feels a bit silly, standing there and trying to psyche himself up to knock, but he also can’t just _do it._ No matter how he rationalizes it to himself (this isn’t something he should be so terrified of, this is stupid, he shouldn’t be freaking out like this, etc.) he just can’t bring himself to knock.

But, eventually, he decides that he isn’t going to get any proper rest until he talks to the Captain. And, of course, he’d made a promise to Green, so he doubts he can get out of this.

Finally, he knocks.

It’s tentative and quiet and filled with anxiety, but it echoes horrifically down the hallway. It hurts to listen to, but Blue roots himself in place. He refuses to run away this time. He just hopes the Captain opens the door to navigation before Blue loses his nerve and makes a break for it to hide for the rest of his life.

The unlocking mechanism clicking in the door almost makes him jump out of his skin, and his gaze zips down and locks onto the little keypad. He feels his heart launch its way into his throat as the door is unlocked. 

And, eventually, the door opens and Blue is face to face with the Captain. 

The two of them are completely silent for a long moment, and Blue is almost positive the Captain can hear his heart pounding in his chest. For as long as their silence lasts, Blue feels like he’s about to be stabbed or something. Anything would be better than the tension settling into his shoulders.

But, finally, the Captain’s eyes soften a little and he smiles crookedly at Blue. “Good evening, Blue. Did you need something?”

“I-” Blue clears his throat, “Yes. I needed to talk to you about something?”

The Captain deftly ignores how his voice rises in pitch by four or five octaves near the end of his sentence, which Blue greatly appreciates.

“Come in, then.” Black moves aside and gestures for Blue to enter the room. “I’m not busy.”

As Blue steps into the room, he feels the tension in his shoulders sharpen and grow frigid. He’s caught, he’s in the single most vulnerable position he will ever be in, and he’s not sure if the Captain is going to bite his head off or let him live. Logically, he knows the Captain isn’t physically capable of biting his head off, but… Blue still has plenty of reasons to feel afraid. He’d never been able to get any sort of read on the Captain since they joined the crew, and now that fact is likely going to bite him in the ass.

But Blue doesn’t show how nervous he is (at least, he hopes he doesn’t), instead he just walks forward and sits down in the spare chair the Captain gestures to, bringing his legs up beneath him and propping his elbow on the arm of the chair. 

“Tea?” The Captain gestures to what appears to be a teapot and several mugs propped up on the navigation dashboard.

For a moment, Blue can’t speak. His terror lurches in his chest with a force so ferocious he gasps quietly and presses a hand to his chest. But, throughout this, the Captain just waits patiently, just watching him in non-judgemental silence.

Finally, when Blue can speak, he says, “Please.”

The Captain nods and pours him a cup, before pressing the steaming mug into his hold. Blue curls his fingers around the mug, letting the warmth seep into his bones, and he prays the Captain doesn’t notice how they’re trembling faintly. Thankfully, even if the Captain notices, he doesn’t say a word on it and just picks up his own mug (one that’s half black and half white with a strange little spiralling pattern where the two shades meet) and curls up not unlike a cat in the main navigation chair.

It’s almost cute, Blue’s positive it would have been if he wasn’t so nervous, and he watches the Captain for a long moment. And, like always, the Captain watches him. Before, it had unnerved him. Now?

Now, the Captain’s gaze is a welcome addition to the many sensations that Blue had been exposed to on the ship. 

It’s a long few minutes before either of them speak, but Blue can’t bring himself to mind much at all. He decides he wouldn’t mind just sitting here in silence with the Captain for several hours if it meant he would be- well, he isn’t quite _calm_ by any means, but he isn’t stressing right now either, and he decides he likes it. He’d do this with Green, given the chance, and if Purple ever shut up then maybe he’d do it with them as well, but this? 

Blue sips his tea, idly watching the Captain as the minutes wear on. 

This is nice. 

The Captain’s presence takes up enough space and attention in the room that Blue believes he could sit with him in _any_ room, no matter how crowded, and never feel like he was being stared at by too many people. And, when the Captain turns his head to look out at the inky black void speckled with stars, Blue finds a smile curling onto his face.

He should speak, should tell the Captain why he’s here, should do something, anything other than sit here in complete silence, but he also would like to just sit here and not feel pressured to do anything. He’s just… _existing,_ and it is relief in its purest form.

Eventually, though, he has to speak. So he does:

“Captain,”

The Captain hums in acknowledgement and turns to look at him, something distant and warm in his mismatched eyes.

Blue swallows, gathers his courage.

“I needed to speak with you about something.” Blue says decisively, nailing his courage down. “It’s nothing important, but…”

“If it’s anything like what Green has been yelling at me for, I’d say it’s at least a little important.” The Captain’s eyes sparkle.

For a second, Blue just stares. Then, very slowly, he whispers, “Do you… know what I am about to say?”

“Not entirely,” the Captain shakes his head, “But I do have a guess. So, if you’re comfortable enough to speak, do so now. I will bear no judgement.”

Well.

That’s more of a relief than Blue could have expected.

“Right,” Blue says weakly, “I um…”

The Captain waits in ever-patient silence as Blue searches for the words.

Finally, _finally,_ Blue manages to rasp, “I think I like you.”

Black hums and takes a sip of his tea for a moment. Once he’d swallowed, he quietly says, “I see. Is that all?”

“I-” Blue colours with shame, “What do you mean _‘is that all?!’_ I just told you that I like you and-”

“Blue, I hate to interrupt, but… do you not remember what I said to you when I’d managed to drag you back from the void?” The Captain asks, still so impossibly patient.

Blue thinks for a moment, pausing. Then, when he remembers-

_“You can’t just leave when I think I might love you.”_

-his eyes widen and his fingers twitch aground his cup of tea.

As he’s contemplating and trying to reason with himself and figure out what this all means, the Captain watches in unobtrusive silence. It takes Blue several moments to properly muster up the courage to speak, throat working to make words work, and the Captain waits patiently the whole time. Blue genuinely appreciates it, but it’s also incredibly nerve wracking.

Eventually, Blue whispers, “So you… love me?”

The Captain hums and nods a little, stirring his tea with the little stir stick. “I believe I do.”

“Oh.” Blue whispers, even quieter now. 

“And you feel similarly?” The Captain tilts his head to the side just so. “If you don’t, that’s quite alright. I don’t want you to feel any pressure about this, understood?”

“I- yes, Captain, I understand.” Blue doesn’t, not really, but he’s trying to. “I…”

“If you need more time to think, you may have as much of it as you need.” Black says softly, “Please, Blue, don’t rush into-”

“No, I-” Blue cuts in, stuttering faintly, “I don’t need more time, I just… gods, this is so- Captain, I’m sorry.”

The Captain shakes his head, rising to his feet and walking quickly across the room and, once he’d given Blue a gentle questioning look, he reaches up and gently pushes his hands into Blue’s hair. And, while Blue is sent reeling from the gentleness of the touch, Black starts impossibly gently petting his hair and combing his fingers through it. It’s impossibly soft and sweet and Blue can’t help but melt into it just a little bit with a soft little hum.

As yet another silence settles over the two of them, Blue again can’t help but feel like he’s about to fall asleep, especially when the Captain’s nails buff softly against the back of his head, sending a shiver down his spine. And, as it continues, Blue finds his answer.

“I love you,” Blue whispers, quiet and nervous but certain all the same. Once he’s spoken, he loops his arms around the Captain’s waist in a hug, leaning forward to bury his face into the Captain’s stomach. He can feel the definition of the Captain’s muscles against his face, but Blue is hyper-focused on how _warm_ the Captain is, even through his suit.

He can hear the Captain’s smile in his voice when he says, “Oh, Blue. Are you certain?”

Blue nods, feeling his cheeks burn. “Mhm. I’m sure.”

Black laughs softly above him, fingers flexing in his hair and massaging his head gently. “I see. Then I love you too.”

It’s all Blue can do to not melt (literally) into the Captain’s chest, warmth seeping into his bones and settling among his nerves. It’s sticky sweet, in a way, and Blue wants to do nothing but bask in it forever. And, judging by the soft, shaky sigh the Captain presses into the quiet air of the room he feels very much the same. There’s a moment where the Captain’s hands stop moving, resting against the base of his skull, and Blue almost asks what he’s doing when the Captain presses his lips to the top of Blue’s head.

Blue is speechless, simply listening as Black’s heart skips in his chest. The Captain’s lips are trembling faintly and Blue stays carefully still to make sure the Captain doesn’t feel pushed away. When the Captain does pull away, Blue tilts his head up to look at him and finds the softest smile on his face. It makes Blue’s heart tremble in his chest, and he hides his face against Black’s chest in embarrassment.

“Oh,” Black’s voice is soft and almost giddy. “That was… stars, Blue, that was so cute.”

Heat flares in Blue’s face and he buries himself further against the Captain’s chest, pressing his nose against his sternum in a way that is certainly not the most comfortable for the Captain. But, judging by the soft laughter shaking the man’s chest and the smile clear in his voice, the Captain doesn’t mind. The Captain’s laughter, as always, sends a shiver up Blue’s spine, and he can’t manage to stop himself from making a small pleased noise.

The Captain’s fingertips brush his cheekbone softly and, when Blue looks up, he’s moving and-

“There we go.”

And Blue finds himself perched in the Captain’s lap.

He can feel himself blushing, his cheeks heating up and surely going more and more crimson as the minutes wear on. He has _no_ idea what he’s supposed to do now, and his helplessness surely shows because the next thing he knows, the Captain is gently putting a hand around the back of his neck and guiding him down to lean his forehead against the Captain’s. It’s… not horrible. That much Blue is sure of. 

For a long moment, he’s breathless, staring at the Captain and wondering what he’s supposed to do now. But eventually he manages to convince his hands upward and to gently press against the Captain’s chest. He remembers seeing a pose that resembles this one on the cover of a book Cyan had been reading once (they had been _very_ embarrassed about having been caught reading it) and once again: he can’t say he hates it. He can see everything about the Captain’s handsome face and strange, mismatched eyes from this close. 

And the Captain seems content to just look at him in return, a crooked, handsome smile making his eyes sparkle. It’s an unfairly good look on him and, when Blue looks up into his eyes to see if he’s looking at Blue, Blue finds he’s not looking at his eyes but instead looking at his mouth.

His _mouth._

A voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like Purple’s screams, _Just KISS HIM YOU MORON._

So, breathless and far too quiet, he whispers, “Captain, can I kiss you?”

The smile on the Captain’s face twitches and trembles faintly around the edges and his eyes grow warmer when he turns them back to Blue’s, and he whispers, “By all means.”

Blue nods a little and swallows, trying to muster up as much pride as he can. His heartbeat is raging in his ears, the blood roaring through his veins. It’s almost painfully loud.

Almost.

Because nestled among it all is Black’s steady heartbeat, grounding him. 

Their noses brush as Blue leans closer, and he can feel the Captain’s breath puffing against his face from this close. The Captain’s eyes slip shut, Blue almost completely closes his before finally mustering the courage to close them all the way. He feels his heart seize in his chest as the Captain tilts his head up just the tiniest bit to match Blue’s angle. Blue falls still and the Captain follows suit. He’s letting Blue take the lead for now.

Finally, after far too long of avoiding it, Blue tilts his head just a bit to the side and leans forward a touch and-

Kisses the corner of the Captain’s mouth.

Black laughs, soft and breathy, and the hand at the back of Blue’s neck goes to cup Blue’s cheek softly. And then, with the kindest touch Blue had ever encountered, the Captain guides him into the softest kiss in existence.

The Captain’s lips are chapped, blisteringly warm, and they taste vaguely of coffee and something distinctly fruity-sweet. After a moment and after he’d broken the first kiss only to kiss the Captain again, he realizes that the Captain has the remnants of strawberry lip balm on. And, when Blue kisses him _again,_ he finds that he rather likes the sensation of the Captain’s lips on his.

Eventually, though, the Captain ever so gently pushes him back by barely an inch and sucks in a greedy breath of air, eyes still closed when Blue flutters his open to look. It takes him a moment to remember that humans do indeed need to breathe, and he feels a bit foolish when he remembers. But he occupies himself with kissing the Captain’s cheek, the tender skin beneath his eyes, the space between his eyebrows, and the corners of his mouth. It takes the Captain not nearly that long to catch his breath, but Blue takes far too much pride in the silly little smile crossing the Captain’s lips to stop just yet.

But the Captain seemingly has other plans, and he turns his head to catch Blue’s mouth in a proper kiss. Blue hums and manages to scrounge up the courage to get a hand into the Captain’s hair. It’s just as soft as he’d always expected.

When they pull away this time, Black opens his eyes and looks up at Blue with a look in his eyes that’s so adoring it makes Blue choke. 

“I’ll be the first to admit,” Black says softly, “that kissing you is more perfect than I’d ever imagined.”

Blue’s cheeks are _aflame._ “You imagined what- you imagined what kissing me would be like?!”

“I did.” Black’s eyes sparkle with humour as he gently drags the pads of his fingers across Blue’s cheekbone. “Are you saying you didn’t?”

“I- well, I mean-” Blue swallows, stammering. “I did- well, _maybe_ I did-”

“Blue,” Black kisses the tip of his nose. “There will be no judgement from me no matter what you say, though I may be a bit disappointed if you say you never thought about kissing me.”

And though the Captain may be laughing at him, Blue can’t bring himself to be mad even if he feels vaguely like his cheeks may _actually_ erupt into flames.


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So…” 
> 
> Brown looks up from their book to see Purple plopping down a massive cup (a milkshake, presumably, piled high with their newest love: whipped cream) and sitting down at the table directly to their left. Their face is obscured behind their visor but, as Brown watches, Purple unclasps their helmet and sets it on the table next to where Brown had set theirs. Their colours don’t really go together all that well, but Brown knows Purple doesn’t mind.
> 
> And neither does Brown. Not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is the last and final part of this fic and I really have to say that you all mean the world to me. Thank you _so_ much for reading this and enjoying it. I really appreciate it so so much.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the epilogue to this fic uwu.
> 
> Next thing I'll post for this world is either gonna be an one shot to do with the Captain or maybe a thing to do with Purple and Brown. We shall see. Let me know if you have a preference?
> 
> Enjoy!

“So…” 

Brown looks up from their book to see Purple plopping down a massive cup (a milkshake, presumably, piled high with their newest love: whipped cream) and sitting down at the table directly to their left. Their face is obscured behind their visor but, as Brown watches, Purple unclasps their helmet and sets it on the table next to where Brown had set theirs. Their colours don’t really go together all that well, but Brown knows Purple doesn’t mind.

And neither does Brown. Not really.

“So.” Brown repeats, tucking their bookmark into their book and closing it. “What brings you here, my friend?”

Purple smiles, their face splitting four ways in that same goofy way Brown had come to admire. “Can’t a person come see a friend?”

“That depends,” Brown says, folding their hands on top of their book. “What is this person’s motive for doing so?”

“That _also_ depends.” Purple says cheerfully, eyes sparkling in a distinctly non-human way. “What did you hear last night?”

Brown blinks at them in silence for several moments. And then their eyebrows scrunch together and they quietly say, “Did the Captain and Blue…”

“Oh!” Purple snorts and shakes their head. “Nah, they didn’t do the diddly-do last night.”

Brown makes the executive decision to ignore the fact that Purple just said ‘diddly-do’ unironically.

“Then… what _did_ they do that’s got you so excited?” Brown asks.

“Simple!” Purple beams at them, face splitting four ways with it. “They did what I’ve wanted to do for you for a _long_ time now.”

Brown feels their cheeks heat up. It’s a foreign sensation, one they’re _definitely_ not familiar with or accustomed to, and they stare at Purple as if they’d grown another three or four heads. Purple just grins at them like they’d won the lottery or something equally as shallow. Brown even sees their shoulders waver in shape for a second or two before Purple can get them back under control.

“They kissed.” Purple says brightly.

“Oh.”

There’s a moment of silence. 

And then-

“Purple, you want to-”

“Can I?” They look so hopeful, like a puppy being offered a treat. “Please?”

“I-” Brown twitches, gritting their teeth and trying to figure out how the fuck to emotion (because they may be human, but goddamnit doing emotions properly is _hard)._ “You want to…”

“Yeah, I really really do.” Purple nods, eyes never once leaving Brown’s. “So…”

For a long, long moment, Brown is utterly silent.

Then, finally they whisper, “Yes.”

From across the table, Purple _beams_ and leaps to their feet before leaning over and gently gripping the back of Brown’s neck. Brown is _positive_ they wouldn’t normally be able to reach this far over the table, but Brown also doesn’t want to think about anything to do with what Purple’s body is doing because Purple is leaning closer and Brown finds that they can’t breathe.

Purple’s kiss is… surprisingly gentle. It’s almost tentative, like they’re nervous or something equally as endearing, and Brown finally convinces themself to bring a hand up to gently cup Purple’s jaw. It’s inhumanly sharp, as if they’d seen one meme about someone’s jaw being sharp enough to grate cheese and taken it as a fact, but Brown is as careful as they always are. And they know Purple would never hurt them.

Purple would never hurt _anyone,_ really. They’re far too much of a softie.

That thought, and all sorts of cognitive thought Brown had had, is promptly thrown out the metaphorical window when Purple nips at their lower lip and uses Brown’s soft surprised gasp to push their tongue inside Brown’s mouth.

It’s odd, Brown had always thought that of kissing with tongue, but they honestly can’t bring themself to care. Their cheeks are hot, nearly hot enough to make them feel lightheaded, but Purple keeps _kissing them_ and they might just pass out of shock, embarrassment, and fondness. Not the worst way to go, but… 

Eventually, after a long few moments and several seconds of Brown being breathless, Purple pulls back and-

Brown nearly has a heart attack.

-licks away a thin, gossamer strand of saliva connecting their mouths.

Purple looks at Brown for a long moment, eyes dark and soft, and then they peck one last kiss to Brown’s cheek before sitting back down on the bench at the table and taking a sip of their milkshake, pleased as can be. They even do a happy little wiggle, expressing reminding Brown of a specific emoji (they think it looks something like this: ^^). Once again, it’s impossibly cute, and Brown has no idea how they’re even still conscious right now.

As they catch their breath, they can feel Purple’s eyes on them. But they really can’t bring themself to mind. Perhaps Purple had been right about… well, all of it.

“CYAN YOU OWE ME FIFTY BUCKS.”

“GOD _DAMNIT.”_

Brown twitches and looks up. 

Cyan and Pink have clearly just entered the cafeteria, and they’re both in varying degrees of despair and triumph. Pink has clearly just won a bet, and Cyan has clearly just lost, but what Brown is particularly embarrassed about is the fact that the _Captain_ is _right behind the two of them._

For a moment, while Cyan counts out what appear to be paper bills from her pocket and hands them to a very smug looking Pink, the Captain just observes Brown with that same eerie, unreadable expression on his face. Then, slowly, his eyes crinkle ever so faintly at the corners as he smiles at Brown and Purple. There’s something in his gaze that Brown recognizes as pride, which only serves to make them even more flustered and forces them to retreat into their book again.

But, as they dive back into the fictional world they’d been in before Purple had come along to tear out the foundations of their mental sanctity from under them, they hear the Captain say something like, “I suppose I’m not the only one with an alien as my partner.”

Brown doesn’t really hear it properly, mind too absorbed in their book (through sheer force of will), but they do feel Purple scoot over across the bench to nestle into their side, leaning their head on Brown’s shoulder. They even make a happy little humming sound that Brown could almost categorize as a vaguely cat-like purr, which is far too cute to be legal.

And if Brown stays as still as physically possible to allow Purple to rest their head safely and comfortably on their shoulder, that’s nobody’s business but theirs.

~END~

**Author's Note:**

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> 
> Thanks for reading! Why not tell me what you think? And if you liked it, why not drop a kudos?
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> Thanks again and see ya next time uwu.


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